A Rose Among Thorns
by weezerz2490
Summary: A long time ago, in a certain place... There was a very beautiful, cool, and popular girl that was respected by all... or something like that. Kurokawa Misaki is the new kid on the block at Ishiyama high. Let's see how long she's able to last!
1. Yoroshiku!

Author's note: This story will be following the Beelzebub anime, but it might have some elements from the manga mixed in too. I apologize in advance if that's too confusing... (^_^;) Also, this story is starting at the end of episode 11 of the anime. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions. (^_^) I'm sorry if the characters get too OOC! I'll try my best not to do that.

I own nothing but my OC.

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><p><em><strong>A Rose Among Thorns: Yoroshiku!<strong>_

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><p>"<strong>English speech"<strong>

"Japanese speech"

'Thoughts'

=≠=≠=≠=≠=≠= Scene transition and/or time lapse

{Setting/scene}

Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)

= Sound effects =

_An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration or stuff like written letters._

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><p>Himekawa Tatsuya slowly opened his eyes as he regained consciousness. He felt like he'd just been run over by a truck, but then again, that was probably to be expected after getting caught in the blast from when he destroyed that damn bazooka... And now he was faced with a sight he'd really rather not see—that bastard, Kanzaki's ugly mug. For some reason, the other member of the Tohoshinki had been looming over his unconscious body.<p>

"Yo. You awake?" Kanzaki leered, smirking, as he straightened up, and stepped away from Himekawa, giving him space now that he was showing signs of life. "Want a drink?" Kanzaki asked as Himekawa pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Tch. I don't feel like drinkin' your backwash." Himekawa said moodily. Why did he have to be found by Kanzaki of all people? Well, at least Oga hadn't seen him like this...

= _Gurgle~!_ =

"Eh?" Himekawa said, surprised as he glanced briefly at his own growling stomach. It just had to go off now, didn't it? Was he feeling so hungry because he hadn't been that active for a while?

"Heh. The vending machine broke, so two came out. I was just gonna throw it out anyway." Kanzaki said sardonically as he held out a Yogurty drink box. Of course, he'd never really throw it away, but like hell he was going to just openly admit he was being nice—Himekawa had better be grateful since he was making an effort to share this 'nectar of the gods' with him.

"Hmph. This is why you weren't raised right..." Himekawa grumbled as he swiped the drink box out of Kanzaki's hand and pivoted into a stereotypical badass-delinquent squatting pose in one smooth motion. "Don't waste food, you!"

"Oh, yeah? I think you'd make a pretty nice trash bin." Kanzaki leered as he squatted down beside Himekawa and watched him drink.

"This isn't bad." Himekawa said, slightly surprised as he stared at the blue drink box. For something with such a weird name, it tasted pretty good.

"Right?" Kanzaki said smugly. No one could resist the deliciousness known as _Yogurty_!

"Go buy me some everyday." Himekawa told him loftily.

"How about you apologize for gettin' a big head, huh?" Kanzaki retorted, vein mark throbbing on his head as he raised his fist. Didn't this bastard ever learn how to properly thank someone?

"Why don't we find out just who should be apologizin'? Ehh?" Himekawa challenged stubbornly.

"Oh, yeah_!_?" Kanzaki said incredulously. Himekawa really knew how to piss him off, didn't he_!_?

"—Look, I already apologized. Besides, you bumped into me!" They heard a girl's voice say indignantly.

"Huh?" Himekawa and Kanzaki said curiously, a little pissed that her comment had just interrupted their fight. The two juvenile delinquents decided to take a look to see what the big fuss was about. Man, that chick had a loud voice—she was all the way on the other side of the road, and they could_ still_ hear her.

"I don't know what your problem is, but I have somewhere I need to be... If I don't hurry... _the super sale on eggs at the super market will end! Do you want me to starve!_? Huh_!_?" The pink-haired girl asked, clearly irritated.

She was shorter than average, and she looked like she was part foreigner. She was wearing a black Ed Hardy hoodie with roses and a skull on the back, an _**I heart NY**_t-shirt, cargo pants, and red converses. The pink-haired girl was currently in the middle of staring down three juvenile delinquents, but their uniforms weren't from any school that Kanzaki and Himekawa had seen before. One of them was huge and wielded a metal pipe, another had an idiotic nose ring that made him look like a cow, and the last one was wearing a super-long red scarf for some reason. In Himekawa's opinion, Pinky was a pretty good-looking girl, but not really enough to cause that much of a fuss over.

"Heh! You think I give a shit what you think?" The tallest one (who seemed to be the leader) asked cynically. "We bumped into you on purpose, dip-shit!" He leered at her.

"Eh? Why would you do that?" Pinky asked innocently, tilting her head slightly in confusion. A vein mark throbbed on the big guy's head as he grit his teeth in irritation.

"Ahaha! I heard this bitch was supposed to be smart, but she's a total air-head!" Cow-boy laughed. "Ain't it obvious? We're pickin' a fight with ya! You think everything will end just because you're switchin' schools—and to _Ishiyama High_ of all places_!_?"

'Oh? So that girl is transferring to our school...?' Himekawa thought, narrowing his eyes slightly. That meant these punks were basically daring to pick a fight with Ishiyama. Well, it might be interesting to see how she handled this. If this girl couldn't even defeat these three weaklings, then she wouldn't even last five minutes at Ishiyama.

"Oh. So it's just the same as usual, then? Well, in that case... Can this wait 'till after I buy the eggs?" Pinky said frankly, not looking fazed at all, even after hearing that three violent creeps wanted to beat the crap out of her. Her nonchalance only seemed to piss them off more.

"It looks like you won't understand your situation... _until we show ya—!"_ Scarf-boy yelled as he suddenly took a swing at her.

= _Whoosh! _=

Scarf-boy's fist flew past Pinky's face as she sidestepped his attack.

"_!_?" The three JDs said, surprised that she had dodged his attack so easily.

"You're the ones who don't understand..." Pinky said, furrowing her brow slightly in irritation as she dodged a kick from scarf-boy. She grabbed the end of his scarf. "I'm frickin' dirt poor! If I don't buy those eggs while they're on sale—_I won't be able to eat protein for a whole week!"_ She shouted indignantly as she yanked hard on the scarf, and sent Scarf-boy spinning like a little top as his scarf unwound from around his neck.

= WHAM! =

Scarf-boy slammed face-first into the wall of a nearby building.

"_Kyoooo!_" The two remaining enemies cried dramatically.

"Damn you, you bitch! How dare you do that to Kyo-Kyo_!_?" Cow-boy shouted angrily as he charged at her.

"Olé~!" Pinky sang comically as she waved the red scarf in front of him, distracting him from the fact that she had just stuck her foot out to trip him, until it was too late.

"Ugh!" Cow-boy grunted in pain as he fell to the ground. _"Don't treat me like I'm some lowly cow, you bitch!"_ He yelled angrily, multiple vein marks throbbing on his forehead as he picked himself up off the ground.

= Be-beep! Be-beep! Be-beep! =

"_!_?" Pinky gasped in shock as she glanced at her watched and silenced the alarm. She stared at her watch in horror. "... It's over..." She said dejectedly, her eyes hidden by her bangs, as she hung her head in defeat. Cow-boy smirked. He didn't know why she was suddenly giving up, but if she thought she could escape by doing so, then she was dead wrong!

"Hah! Eat thi—_!_?" Cow-boy yelled as he took a swing at her, but his gleeful cry died in his throat when Pinky grabbed his fist, stopping it just an few inches away from her face. She glared at him as she radiated an ominous aura.

"Because of you three..." Pinky said darkly as she reached a hand up towards Cow-boy's face. _"I ended up missing the whole sale!_!" She shouted angrily, vein mark throbbing on her head as she ripped out his stupid nose ring.

"_Gyaaaaaaah—!_!" Cow-boy shrieked in agony as he crumpled to the ground, holding his bleeding nose.

"_Give me back my only source of protein, you bastards!_! _How am I supposed to make tamogoyaki without eggs!_?" Pinky roared with righteous fury. Now she was going to have to survive on just instant ramen and tap water for an entire week, dammit!

= WHACK! =

"Dammit! You'll pay for that, you bitch!" The big guy growled as he hit her on the head with his pipe from behind. How dare a _girl_ hurt his underlings like that! He grinned wickedly when she fell to the ground. "I'll kill ya—"

"Oi." Kanzaki said dangerously, cutting the big guy off as he gripped his wrist tightly.

"What the hell do you think you're doin' on my turf, bastard?" Himekawa demanded darkly as he glared menacingly at the stranger.

"Wait. What the hell do you mean '_your turf'_?" Kanzaki asked Himekawa, vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"Let go of me, ya basta—!" Big guy yelled at Kanzaki, swinging his pipe at him.

= _Grab. =_

"!" Big guy said, startled when a small and delicate hand reached out and caught the pipe before it could hit Kanzaki.

"You know, hitting someone from behind... is a pretty low thing to do." Pinky said darkly as she glared at him.

"H-How are you still okay_!_? _I hit you hard enough to crack your skull open!_!" Big guy stuttered nervously. Pinky smirked.

"Heh. If you'd bothered to get info from anyone who actually knew me, then you'd know... _I'm ridiculously hard-headed to the point that it's stupid!"_ She declared proudly as she head butted him, knocking him out cold with a single blow.

"..." Kanzaki and Himekawa said as they stared at her, dumbfounded. Was that really something to be so proud of? This girl was obviously an idiot... or maybe she was brain damaged from being hit so hard.

"Phew~!" Pinky said as she sighed in relief and wiped the sweat from her brow. "I can't believe I let him catch me off guard like that! Well, at least I know that chivalry isn't completely dead yet." She said, smiling at them. "I'm Kurokawa Misaki, and you are...?"

"I'm Ishiyama's Himekawa..." Himekawa said as he and Kanzaki watched her drag the three unconscious JDs over to a street light and tie them to the post using the red scarf.

"And I'm Kanzaki." Kanzaki added.

"Cool. Nice to meet you, Himekawa-san and Kanzaki-san. Thanks for the save!" Misaki said, smiling gratefully at them as she pulled a permanent marker out of her pants pocket, and she started doodling on her enemies' faces. She wrote _**FAIL**_ in English and all caps on their foreheads, and then she drew spirals on their cheeks and mustaches and glasses around their eyes. They sweat dropped. What was she, twelve?

"Tch. It's not like we did it for you." Kanzaki said.

"We just happened to overhear that you're a student at Ishiyama now. We can't have our reputation being ruined because _you_ lost to such weaklings." Himekawa added.

"Oh... Well, thanks anyway." Misaki said, sweat dropping, as she smiled wryly. "So, does that mean you're my sempais, then? Oh, wait—I forgot that I'm going to be a third-year now... but I'd be a first-year if I wasn't skipping grades..." Misaki said thoughtfully.

"Skipping grades...?" Himekawa asked skeptically, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Yep! I want to graduate as quickly as possible, so I decided to go ahead and test out of the first two years of high school. So I'll be a third-year, even though I'm only sixteen-years-old." Misaki said matter-of-factly. Vein marks throbbed on Himekawa and Kanzaki's heads. The way she made it sound so easy pissed them off. Was this idiot really trying to say she was a genius or something? "By the way... what kind of school is Ishiyama?" Misaki asked curiously. "There was a lot going on when I moved to this city, so I didn't have time to visit the school in person." They stared blankly at her for a few moments. Seriously, how did this kid manage to skip grades? Was she an idiot? She had to be! Why would anyone enroll at a school like Ishiyama without at least surveying the territory first_!_? This kid was going to be eaten alive! Not that it was their problem...

"Well, you'll find out once you go." Himekawa said as he readjusted his sunglasses. Why ruin the surprise?

"You have a hard head, so you'll be fine... probably." Kanzaki said skeptically as he walked past her, and waved goodbye to them over his shoulder without looking back. "Later."

"Bye-bye, Kanzaki-sempai!" Misaki said cheerfully.

= Growl =

Misaki blinked, slightly surprised, before glancing at Himekawa.

"Was that your stomach, or mine?" She asked him.

"Sh-Shut up!" Himekawa said indignantly. Damn. He was starving now, and he was out of money since he blew his entire allowance on his failed plans to get revenge on Oga. Now what was he supposed to do? It would still be a few more days before he got his allowance again...

"Ah, I know _that look—_It's the 'I'm starving, but I have no idea what I can buy with so little money' look, right?" Misaki said excitedly, staring at him as though she had just found a long-lost comrade. "Could it be that you're poor t—"

"_Like hell I am!"_ Himekawa shouted, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. "I just miscalculated some of my spending a little... but that's all! I'm the son of the head of _the_ 'Himekawa Group,' a financial zaibatsu!" He told her.

"Oh, how nice for you." Misaki said, smiling wryly as she sweat dropped. "So, that means you have a place to live then, huh? Must be nice to have a roof over your head... Well, I'll be off to the ¥100 store to buy a pack of cup ramen." She said as she turned to leave. "I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow. Good luck wit—"

"_How much money do you have?" _Himekawa asked gravely as he placed a hand on her shoulder, holding her in place, and loomed over her. Misaki sweat dropped as she stared up at him. From that question, it sounded like he had _zero_ money left. She took a calming breath, hoping she wasn't going to regret what she was about to suggest.

"If you need food, and I need a place to stay... I'll share my pack of ramen with you in exchange for shelter..." Misaki said cautiously.

"..." Himekawa said as he stared at her for a moment, trying to decide just how desperate he was. His stomach growled again. Yep, pretty desperate. "Fine. But you can't tell anyone about the fact that I actually ran out of money for the first time in my life, got it?" He said sternly.

"Got it!" Misaki said, grinning as she saluted him. "This is awesome! Now I won't have to fight a homeless person for a bench in the park to sleep on tonight~!" She cheered happily. Himekawa sweat dropped. Suddenly, being temporarily out of money didn't seem so bad... at least not compared to this girl's situation...


	2. Ojamashimasu!

I own nothing but my OC.

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><p><em><strong>A Rose Among Thorns: Ojamashimasu!<br>**_

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><p>"<strong>English speech"<strong>

"Japanese speech"

'Thoughts'

=\=\=\=\=\= Scene transition and/or time lapse

{Setting/scene}

Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)

= Sound effects =

_An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration or stuff like written letters._

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><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_If you need food, and I need a place to stay... I'll share my pack of ramen with you in exchange for shelter..." Misaki said cautiously._

"_..." Himekawa said as he stared at her for a moment, trying to decide just how desperate he was. His stomach growled again. Yep, pretty desperate. "Fine. But you can't tell anyone about the fact that I actually ran out of money for the first time in my life, got it?" He said sternly._

"_Got it!" Misaki said, grinning as she saluted him. "This is awesome! Now I won't have to fight a homeless person for a bench in the park to sleep on tonight~!" She cheered happily. Himekawa sweat dropped. Suddenly, being temporarily out of money didn't seem so bad... at least not compared to this girl's situation..._

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><p>"Well, now that that's settled, let's go get supper! I'm starving~!" Misaki said brightly as she readjusted her bulging backpack, and grinned at Himekawa. "So, where's the nearest ¥100 store?" She asked.<p>

"Tch. How should I know? I've never once had a reason to enter a store like that." Himekawa said unhelpfully. Misaki frowned slightly in disappointment at that.

"But even if you've never been in one before, you'd normally know where they are from seeing the store's sign when you pass by when you walk down the street, right?" She pointed out.

"Hmph. I usually just take the car." Himekawa said bluntly. Misaki sweat dropped. Even so, you'd have to be aware of your surroundings when driving right? Was this guy really that oblivious, or did he have a chauffeur...? Either way, he really must be rich if he already had a car when he was in highschool.

"In that case, I guess we'll have to ask for directions." Misaki said, sighing resignedly.

"What? You mean after all that talk, you don't know where it is either?" Himekawa asked, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. This girl was really starting to get on his nerves...!

"Of course I don't know, I just moved here." Misaki said bluntly. "Why else would I be walking around with all of my belongings?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Your belongings...?" Himekawa asked skeptically, eyeing the bulging backpack on her back. Did that mean... everything she owned had been crammed into that thing...? Just how poor was this girl that everything she owned fit into one bag_!_?

"Yep. I'm living on my own now, so I had to take everything with me when I left, but I don't have a place to stay at yet, so I'm carrying them around for now." Misaki said matter-of-factly, as though it were a perfectly normal thing for homeless transfer students to wonder around town carrying all their worldly possessions on their back so casually. "Oh! That girl looks responsible! I'll go ask her for directions." Misaki said as she approached a very familiar looking girl. Himekawa's eyes widened slightly in surprise. It was Kunieda Aoi! Why did he have to keep bumping into all the usual people from Ishiyama today_!_? They were never this easy to find before! Was this Misaki girl some kind of magnet for JDs...?

"Excuse me!" Misaki called out to Aoi before Himekawa could stop her. "I'm sorry to bother you, but could you please tell me where the nearest ¥100 shop is?" She asked politely.

"Oh, um... I think there's one further down the street. It's next to a book store." Aoi said, slightly surprised to be approached suddenly by such a friendly stranger.

"Really? Awesome! Thanks a lot for you help~!" Misaki said, giving Aoi a smile with the radiance of a thousand suns. She was so happy to hear that there was one so close by! "Ah! That uniform—Now that I look closely, you're an Ishiyama student, huh? Nice to meet you, I'm Kurokawa Misaki. I'll be starting school there in a day or two." She said cheerfully, happy to know that there was such a nice girl at her new school, as she held out her hand to shake Aoi's. "What's your name, stranger?"

"K-Kunieda Aoi..." Aoi said, slightly taken aback by how random this girl was... Well, she didn't seem like a bad kid... just a little strange. "You're a transfer student? It's rare to see someone new transferring to Ishiyama at this time of the year, especially a girl..."

"Is that so? Well, due to certain circumstances, it just couldn't be helped." Misaki said, smiling wryly as she laughed. "I was a little nervous about starting at a new school, but I feel relieved knowing someone like Kunieda-san will be there. I guess we'll see eachother again tomorrow, then?"

"Yes. Good luck with everything. Let me know if you need any help." Aoi said kindly. She was used to looking out for all of the girls at Ishiyama (although Nene was the leader of the Red Tails now), so one more wouldn't hurt.

"Wow, thanks, Kunieda-san! I'll see you around~!" Misaki said as the two girls waved good by to eachother as Kunieda continued on her way. **"Bye-bye~!" ** She turned back around to face Himekawa. "Isn't that great? It turns out it's really close by..." Misaki said, trailing off when she realized Himekawa wasn't right behind her anymore. "Um... Himekawa-sempai...?" She asked tentatively, hoping he hadn't left without her.

"Is she gone?" Himekawa asked gravely, suddenly right behind her.

"Gyak_!_?" Misaki cried out in surprise, jumping back as she spun around to face Himekawa. "How did you sneak up on me like that_!_? Are you some kind of ninja_!_?" she demanded seriously, pointing her finger accusingly at him.

"No, but you're clearly some kind of idiot." Himekawa said bluntly, readjusting his sunglasses. "Maybe I should start calling you 'Mi-baka', huh?" He asked intimidatingly.

"Go ahead and try, if you're curious about how far back your arm can bend before it breaks that is." Misaki said, smiling a brilliant shit-eating grin at him that barely concealed her ire. "Tch. And here I was hoping I could learn some actual ninja skills... well, whatever. I don't think I could learn much from a guy that hides whenever a cute girl shows up."

"I wasn't hiding! I just didn't want to be seen with a Mi-baka like you." Himekawa said, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. "And is it just me, or did your personality just change_!_?"

"No, I just have a bad temper. Besides, what's so bad about being seen with me? Do you like that girl? Did you think there'd be a misunderstanding that'd ruin your chances or something?" Misaki asked, pouting slightly at the rude nickname he had given her. She wanted to hit him, but she still needed a place to stay, so she decided to let it go... _for now._

"Heh. As if anyone would be interested in you like that. Don't you know who that is? You just talked to Kunieda Aoi—K.U.N.I.E.D.A.! As in a member of Ishiyama's Tohoshinki! Although, I guess it's not that surprising that you were so calm when speaking to her when you reacted the same way when Me and Kanzaki introduced ourselves..." Himekawa muttered.

"She's a member of the Tohoshinki_!_?" Misaki asked, gasping dramatically. "...What's that? Is it edible?" She asked innocently. Himekawa nearly face-faulted. Why did he have to get involved with such an idiotic weirdo...?

"You—! Do you mean to tell me that you entered Ishiyama without knowing even that much_!_?" Himekawa asked, chagrined.

"I just picked it because it was the cheapest." Misaki answered bluntly. "I didn't really look at anything else." She said honestly, rubbing the back of her neck, wondering what the big deal was.

"..." Himekawa said as he stared at her for a moment, already fed up with the strange idiot. If he didn't know any better, he'd think she was an alien... He sighed in resignation. He couldn't get rid of this girl until he had the ramen. Until then, he'd just have to play along and hope her stupidity wasn't contagious. "Whatever. I'll explain everything on they way to the store."

=\=\=\=\=\=

{One explanation of Ishiyama High's hierarchy later, at the ¥100 shop...}

"I see, so it turns out Ishiyama is a school with a 120% turnout rate for JDs, and there are four members of the Tohoshinki, who are Ishiyama's strongest JDs. The name 'Tohoshinki' comes from the kanji in the names of its members, which are you, Kanzaki-sempai, Kunieda-san, and Toujou Hidetora..." Misaki said, recounting what she had heard from Himekawa. "It sounds like I ended up in a pretty rowdy place, after all... However, what concerns me most at the moment is... _What aisle is the ramen on?"_ Misaki said seriously.

"You... after hearing how much danger you'll be in tomorrow, is that all you have to say? What are you, a walking stomach? Do you only take something seriously if it involves food?" Himekawa asked as a vein mark throbbed on his head, chagrined. He placed a hand on top of Misaki's head and gripped her skull tightly as he loomed over her.

"Well... I just thought it wouldn't do me any good to worry about it since there's nothing I can do about it now... Um, Himekawa-sempai, could you stop that? It feels like you're going to crack my skull..." Misaki said, sweat dropping. Why was he so angry?

"Tch. Fine, but only because you're no use to me dead." Himekawa muttered darkly.

"Wow, I'm really feeling the love here, Sempai..." Misaki deadpanned. "But seriously, this place is awesome! They have even more stuff than the **Dollar Tree** stores back home..." She said, impressed, as they wandered up and down the aisles in search of instant ramen.

"Where are you from anyway?" Himekawa asked, not that he really cared.

"America." Misaki said frankly. "Oh! There it is!" She said excitedly, pointing at a section devoted solely to different kinds of instant ramen in various flavors. "Which one do you want? I'm partial to the spicy shrimp flavor, myself..." Misaki asked him as she immediately started sifting through the different types to find the one that looked the tastiest.

"I'll take the chicken..." Himekawa said as he watched her. She looked like a kid in a candy store. 'America, huh... that explains why she looks and acts like a foreigner...' He thought. Even so, she was still an idiot.

=\=\=\=\=\=

{Outside Himekawa's apartment...}

"...This... is where... you live...?" Misaki asked, stunned as she stared up at the really expensive looking high-rise building that seemed to be as tall as the tower of Babel. There were fountains of some weird fish-dog-like things that had Himekawa's hairstyle too... Misaki sweat dropped. She was starting to have a bad feeling about this...

"It's my apartment." Himekawa replied simply as he stepped inside without any hesitation.

"I... see..." Misaki thought, sweat dropping when she followed him inside and saw neoclassical statues that were also sporting Himekawa's hairstyle. This confirmed her bad feeling. The whole building really did have such gaudy and tasteless décor... She'd never understand some rich people's taste.

"Which floor?" Misaki asked, ready to press the button when the entered the elevator.

"The dining rooms are on floor 26." Himekawa stated.

"..." Misaki said as she pushed the button. "Wait a minute... that sounded like you were implying you had stuff on other floors... How many rooms are you renting?" Misaki asked curiously, slightly chagrined that he could afford all of this, and yet she had just treated him to cup ramen with her precious savings...

"Rooms? I know this might be hard for you to comprehend, Mi-baka, but I own every floor above the 25th one in this building." Himekawa said matter-of-factly. Misaki gaped at him, turning blue with shock.

'What the hell—_!_? Just what in the world could anyone possibly need that many rooms for_!_? And he says I'm an idiot? No wonder he's broke! This guys has no frickin' common sense!' Misaki screamed inside her mind, too shocked to speak. Himekawa smirked. It looked like he had stunned her so much that she was speechless.

'That's right. Be amazed!' Himekawa thought sinisterly. He was going to get her back for all the irritation she had been putting him through since they met. 'Just like every other girl I've ever brought here before, she's speechless now that she knows my true power and wealth. With this, I'll probably be able to get her to do anything I—'

"Himekawa-sempai..." Misaki said, snapping him out of it. "There's something I need to ask you... If you're this rich..." Himekawa smirked. Here it comes. The part where she asks him for some kind of favor involving money, or tries to seduce him for it—Misaki was dirt poor with no place to live, so she would be even more desperate—

"—Why didn't you hire a better interior decorator or a hairstylist?" Misaki asked bluntly with no evil intentions.

"Oi, you want me to throw you _off _of the 26th floor, Mi-baka?" Himekawa muttered darkly as he grabbed her head again.

"Ah, no... I think even I'd die from that..." Misaki said, sweat dropping. 'So, he really does like all this tacky stuff... come to think of it, he's been casually wearing a pretty flashy purple Hawaiian-style shirt this whole time...' She thought, chagrined. Maybe she should've just tried sleeping in the local park after all... it would've been less life-threatening at least...

=\=\=\=\=\=

{Inside (one of) Himekawa's dining room...}

'Well, at least this room looks pretty normal...' Misaki thought as they waited for the water to heat up in the electric water boiler/pitcher thing Himekawa had lying around somewhere. "So... come here often?" Misaki joked. Himekawa sighed as he readjusted his glasses, not amused.

"Is it impossible for you to be quiet for more than five minutes?" He responded.

"Sort of... I just don't do well with silence." Misaki said, sweat dropping as she smiled wryly and rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm used to being surrounded by the sounds of life, so when it's quiet like this, I get a little uneasy..." She said with a slightly distant look in her eyes, as though she were remembering something unpleasant.

"The sounds of life...?" Himekawa asked curiously. Misaki nodded and smiled, shaking off her uneasiness.

"Yes. I'm originally from New York, so I'm used to hearing lots of sounds at all times of the day and night. The boarding house my mother and I lived in was pretty lively too. There was always someone else around, whether you liked it or not!" Misaki said, laughing as she smiled fondly at the nostalgic topic.

"Hm. Same here. We have lots of servants, so there's always someone else around both here and at my parents' house... However, there just happens to be no one else here at the moment since all the servants were given a holiday." Himekawa said thoughtfully. Misaki sweat dropped. That wasn't really the same, but whatever...

"Why aren't you living with your family?" Misaki asked curiously. "Or is that a sensitive subject? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to..." She added quickly, realizing that everyone had their own circumstances, and not everyone liked to share.

"Hmph. I don't know what type of situation you're imagining, but I live here because I want to. What about you? From what you've said earlier, you're pretty much homeless. Why did you come all the way to Japan when you had a home back in America?" Himekawa asked.

"Well, kids have to leave home sometime right? In my case, it was just sooner, rather than later." Misaki said as she added the now boiling water to their ramen, and set her watch timer for three minutes. "My mom's originally from Japan, and she told me lots of stories about her homeland over the years, and I have a grandfather here that I'd never met before, so I thought I'd try meeting him, but he's kind of hard to get along with... So I decided to stay here on my own for a while. I managed to get a job at a convenience store this morning, so I should be fine once I save up enough money. Until then, I'll just have to tough it out." She explained, smiling wryly.

"Hmm. I don't really get why you're so determined to live in such harsh conditions, but good luck with that. Try not to die." Himekawa said as he took his cup ramen and started eating.

"Thanks, but I'll be okay. I'm from Brooklyn." She said, grinning cheekily as she started eating hers.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

Ojamashimasu basically means 'pardon the intrusion', and it is said when entering another person's home.

Mi-baka is a combination of the first character in Misaki's name (Which means beautiful blossom) 'Mi' and 'Baka' (which means idiot). 'Mi-baka' basically means beautiful idiot, although at this point in time, Himekawa only tacked the 'Mi' on to make fun of her name.


	3. It's a school of delinquents!

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

><p><em><strong>A Rose Among Thorns: It's a school of delinquents!<strong>_

* * *

><p>"<strong>English speech"<strong>

"Japanese speech"

'Thoughts'

=\=\=\=\=\= Scene transition and/or time lapse

{Setting/scene}

Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)

= Sound effects =

_An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration or stuff like written letters._

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_Hmm. I don't really get why you're so determined to live in such harsh conditions, but good luck with that. Try not to die." Himekawa said as he took his cup ramen and started eating._

"_Thanks, but I'll be okay. I'm from Brooklyn." She said, grinning cheekily as she started eating hers._

* * *

><p>{The next morning...}<p>

Misaki panted heavily as she sprinted to school. That jerk, Himekawa, had left without her (in a chauffeured car), so now she had to double-time it to school so she wouldn't be late on her first day. I mean, what kind of impression would that make if she couldn't even get there on time on the first day?

'I know! If I cut through a few backyards, I should be able to cut my commuting time in half!' Misaki thought excitedly. She turned the corner and got a running start before jumping and scrambling up the side of a gate-wall. "Man, I miss chain-link fences. They're so much easier to climb since you can actually grab onto the fence..." She mumbled as she jumped down into the yard and kept running.

=\=\=\=\=\=

"Dabu?" Baby Be'el cooed curiously from atop Oga's head when he sensed someone approaching them.

"Oh? What is it Be'el-bou?" Oga asked. For some reason, Be'el was acting really excited all of a sudden.

"Hey, isn't that how he acts when he sees someone strong?" Furuichi pointed out. Oga glanced at Furuichi before looking around them. They weren't at school yet, and there wasn't anyone else on the street as far as he could see.

"That's impossible, since it's just you here with us." Oga said bluntly.

"Oi—!" Furuichi said, chagrined, but he was cut off before he could start ranting when someone yelled.

"—Look out!" Misaki cried in alarm when she realized that someone was underneath her after she had jumped over the final wall.

"Eh_!_?" Furuichi cried in alarm when he realized it was too late to move. _"Oomph!"_ Furuichi grunted in pain went Misaki landed on him feet first. Well, at least she hadn't been wearing cleats...

"Ah! I'm so sorry! Are you all right_!_?" Misaki asked him anxiously as she scrambled off of him, and checked to make sure she hadn't accidentally killed him.

"Da~!" Be'el cooed happily as he watched the violence with sparkling eyes.

"It's all right. This is nothing." Furuichi told her, putting on his 'I think I'm smexy' face. The effect was totally ruined when blood started dripping down his face.

"No, no, no—That is definitely not nothing!" Misaki said nervously as she started rummaging around in her school bag for something.

"Don't worry, I get wounded like that all the time, and I'm just fine." Oga said reassuringly.

"Dah!" Be'el said supportively.

'No, you're just abnormal...' Furuichi thought, sweat dropping.

"Well, it's my fault this happened, so the least I can do is give you some basic first-aid." Misaki said as she pulled a small first-aid kit out of her bag. "This might sting a little, but it'll kill any germs that might infect your cut." She told Furuichi as she opened a little packet for a moist rubbing alcohol napkin and used it to wipe Furuichi's face. As he watched her, Oga realized something.

"Hey, isn't that the girl's uniform for our school?" Oga asked as he studied Misaki's clothes.

"Eh, you're a student at Ishiyama_!_?" Furuichi asked her excitedly.

"Yep! I start today. My name is Kurokawa Misaki." She said, smiling brightly as she pulled out a box of cute animal band-aids. "What're your names?" She asked as she applied a chibi fox patterned band-aid to Furuichi's forehead.

"I'm Furuichi Takayuki, and this guy behind me is Oga Tatsumi." Furuichi said suavely (?).

"Oh, and who is this little guy?" Misaki asked curiously when she spotted Be'el.

"Ah, this is Be'el-bou." Oga said as he patted Be'el on the head, and Be'el made happy baby noises.

"He's so cuuute~!" Misaki cooed as she gazed fondly at the baby demon lord. "Is he your little brother?" Furuichi and Oga blinked as they stared at her, slightly taken aback. This was probably the first time that someone who had seen Oga with Be'el hadn't just assumed he was Be'el's biological father. "Ah, sorry! Did I say something strange?" She asked them, wondering why they were staring at her like she had just grown a second head.

"No, not at all! Rather, you just said something extremely normal!" Furuichi reassured her.

"Be'el-bou isn't my little brother. He's just a kid I picked up one day, and now I have to take care of him, or Hilda will kill me..." Oga explained.

"Oh... Is that so...?" Misaki asked, smiling wryly as she sweat dropped. What interesting people... "Is it all right if I hold him for just a few minutes? I have an extreme weakness for the cute and small." She said, blushing slightly out of embarrassment as she rubbed the back of her neck.

'Ah~! This is it! It's a girl—a _real_ girl has finally come to Ishiyama~!" Furuichi thought excitedly, blushing and drooling slightly as he started imaging a lovey-dovey school life with a non-violent and gentle girl who knew how to treat wounds, rather than just cause them. He giggled a little creepily. Misaki sweat dropped as she stared at him. Okaaay, so maybe that one was a little creepy...

"Sure. What do you think, Be'el-bou? Can she hold you?" Oga asked.

"Dabu!" Be'el said confidently, giving her a thumbs up. Misaki almost melted from the cuteness.

"That settles it then. Here you go." Oga said as he handed Be'el over to her.

"Thank you!" Misaki said happily as she took Be'el and cradled him in her arms. "But... why is he butt-naked? Did you run out of diapers?" She asked, sweat dropping.

'Whoa! Yet another realistic reaction! Misaki-chan is on a roll!' Furuichi thought.

"Well, he just came that way, and he doesn't seem to like wearing anything, so I just left him as is." Oga said frankly.

"Oh... I see. I guess that makes sense?" Misaki said, smiling wryly as she sweat dropped, and Be'el cooed happily in her arms.

"Hey, he seems to like you, so... could you become this kid's mother? I'll give him to you." Oga asked seriously. Furuichi flinched in shock and gaped at Oga incredulously. First Hilda, then Kunieda, and now the new girl_!_? How dare Oga try to take all of the good girls_!_?

"Um, as much as I would like to, I'm afraid I can't. You see, I'm having a lot of trouble just taking care of myself right now, and I don't even have a permanent place to live, so taking on such an important responsibility just isn't possible for me right now... Sorry." Misaki said regretfully as she handed Be'el back to Oga. "I might be able to babysit for you sometimes when you need a break, but that's it."

"Haah, dammit. Well, it was worth a shot." Oga said, sighing as Be'el climbed back on top of his head.

= DIIIIING~DOOOONG! =

"Ah, the school bell just rang..." Furuichi said.

"Eh_!_? Oh, no! I can't be late on my first day!" Misaki cried in alarm as she suddenly took off sprinting almost as fast as the speed of light. "It was nice meeting you! See you later!" She yelled back at them over her shoulder.

"Say, Furuichi... do you think someone who is worried about being late to Ishiyama really knows what kind of school it is...?" Oga asked thoughtfully.

"!" Furuichi said, flinching in shock and realization. A sweet girl like Misaki-chan would be eaten alive in seconds within stepping on school grounds!

"Well, whatever." Oga said carelessly, shrugging. "Let's go, Be'el-bou."

"Dah!" Be'el cheered.

=\=\=\=\=\=

{Ishiyama High School..}

"... Huh?" Misaki said, stunned when she saw the school. There were broken windows everywhere, and the school was covered in graffiti. "Did I get the wrong address...?" She wondered out loud. Even the really shady public school that she had attended back in New York had been better than this... this place looked like it was an abandoned building housing a bunch of squatters.

"Hehehe, look guys, it's a girl!" She heard someone say. She turned to face the group of snickering guys just a few feet away from her. They all looked like your stereotypical JDs.

"Hot bitch alert!" The one with a mohawk said. Misaki frowned slightly at that, but decided not to start anything until she was settled in.

"Can you tell me where the principal's office is?" She asked them.

"Huh? What do ya need to know that for? Are you tryin' to mess with us, bitch_!_?" A bleached blond with a weird tattoo on his forehead demanded.

"No. I seriously want to know so I can check in with him since it's my first day here." Misaki deadpanned. These guys were starting to get on her nerves.

"You hear, that? It's fresh meat!" Another JD said excitedly as he licked his lips. Misaki stared at him for a moment.

"... You a cannibal or something?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow as she took a step away from them.

"_That's obviously not what I meant, you retard!"_ Cannibal JD yelled incredulously.

"Anyway, are you going to tell me where the principal is or not?" Misaki asked, furrowing her brow slightly in annoyance as she placed her hands on her hips.

"I Think... _not!"_ They all said as they suddenly pounced on her.

= Wham! Bam! Smack! Thud! Whack!=

The whole group of JDs fell to the ground, unconscious. Misaki had just knocked them all out without even breaking a sweat.

"Ah-ah! And here I was trying to behave myself for once..." Misaki said, sighing regretfully as she brushed herself off. "Don't cause trouble for me on the very first day, dammit! I don't have time to humor you small fries today." She scolded them as she marched towards the school building, determined to find the principal.

=\=\=\=\=\=

"Wh-What is this...?" Kanzaki asked, dumbfounded as he watched Himekawa supervise people as they moved huge crates of Yogurty into his base/classroom.

"I don't like being in anyone's debt." Himekawa said simply, smirking when he saw the stunned look on his face. Luckily, his parents had decided to give him his allowance early, so he finally had money again today. Shiroyama sweat dropped as he stared at the mountain of drinks. How the hell were they supposed to be able to drink all of that...?

"Uh-oh. Be careful, Shiro-chan. These all have the same expiration date." Natsume said, smiling slightly in amusement as he read the information on the boxes. This should be interesting.

"Is this some kind of harassment_!_?" Kanzaki demanded incredulously, vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"Oh! I thought I heard some familiar voices coming from this direction!" Misaki said, smiling as she stuck her head into the classroom.

"Heh. So you really did come... Mi-baka." Kanzaki said.

"_It's Misaki."_ She deadpanned.

"I'm surprised you managed to get here so quickly after being left behind." Himekawa said, smirking.

"Yeah, thanks for that. I ended up having to run all the way here because of that!" Misaki said a little bitterly. "But on the plus side, I got to hold Oga's adorable little Be'el-bou so I'll forgive you." She said graciously.

"What did you just say?" Himekawa asked darkly.

"You met that bastard Oga already_!_?" Kanzaki asked, vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"Oh, so you guys know Oga-kun? His friend Furuichi is a little weird, but Oga's a pretty nice guy." She said, smiling innocently at them. Some of the DJs had to shield their eyes from her radiant purity.

"Um, do you know this pink-haired girl somehow, Shiro-chan, Hime-chan?" Natsume asked.

"Um, excuse me, but my hair isn't pink—It's strawberry-blond." Misaki corrected him. "And can I call you 'Hime-chan' too, Himekawa-sempai?" She asked excitedly, raising her hand like a grade-schooler asking her teacher a question.

"_No_."Himekawa told her bluntly before turning to face Natsume. "We met this idiot last night when she was fighting three other JDs from another school." He explained.

"Yeah, if I'd known what a pain in the ass she was, I never would've bothered to stick my nose into it." Kanzaki added.

"Yep, thanks to that I managed to make two new friends. Right, Kanzaki-sempai, Hime-chan?" Misaki said, smiling brightly.

"Tch. I don't remember becoming friends with the likes of you!" Kanzaki retorted.

"And why the hell is he 'Kanzaki-sempai' and I'm 'Hime-chan'_!_?" Himekawa demanded, vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"Well, we're closer, aren't we? After all, you let me stay at your place last night. If you don't like 'Hime-chan,' then how about 'Hime-sempai'?" Misaki suggested. The room was filled with an awkward silence. Himekawa had let her spend the night at his place...? It was unbelievable that the money-loving member of the Tohoshinki would allow such a thing without receiving something in return as payment, and Kanzaki already knew from hearing her ranting about how poor she was, that Misaki couldn't have possibly bribed him with money to do so... that could only mean one thing...

"Himekawa... you didn't..." Kanzaki asked hesitantly, glancing back and forth between him and Misaki, who looked puzzled by their reactions.

"Tch! As if I'd be desperate enough to touch _that_." Himekawa muttered, vein mark throbbing on his forehead as he furrowed his brow in annoyance. "I'm not interested in girls whose chests are flat enough to land a plane on."

"Hey! I'll have you know I'm a 36B-cup, you jerk!" Misaki retorted without realizing that she had just revealed her bra-size in front of a whole group of guys.

"Haha, Misaki-chan, you're a pretty interesting kid!" Natsume said, laughing. Shiroyama sweat dropped. 'Brain damaged' was more like it...

"Um... thanks? Anyway, I've already checked in with the principal, and everything... Hime Sempai already told me so yesterday, but... I surprised when I saw the school. This really is a school of all delinquents, huh?" Misaki asked a little hesitantly.

"Yep." They all deadpanned.

"Ah, I thought so..." Misaki said, hanging her head dejectedly as comical tears streamed down her face. "It's even worse here that in was at my old school."

"Misaki-chan, did you really come here without knowing anything?" Natsume asked. Misaki nodded.

"Yeah. Due to certain circumstances, I had to leave the last town I was living in after moving to Japan. I ended up moving here, and enrolling in Ishiyama because it was the cheapest. I didn't look at anything other than the cost of tuition when I was choosing between schools." She said honestly.

"I don't really get it, but it sounds like you've been through a lot..." Shiroyama said, sweat dropping.

"Eh, it could be worse. I've almost finished building my own shelter anyway, and I managed to get a job at a convenience store, so it's all good." Misaki said cheerfully.

'Shetler...?' They all thought, stunned. It sounded like she really was homeless...

"Heh. You bounce back pretty fast, don't you?" Himekawa observed.

"At any rate, if you plan on staying here, you should hurry up and join a gang. You're just asking to be attacked by wandering around on your own." Kanzaki said carelessly.

"Maybe you should see if the Red Tails will accept you." Shiroyama suggested. "They're the all-girl gang at our school."

"Hmm... Actually, I'd rather not get involved with a gang." Misaki said frankly. "I think I'll just wait and see how I do on my own for a few days. I'm used to having to defend myself anyway, and the guys from my old school put a metal plate in my school bag before I left." She said, pulling it out to show them.

"... You ran to school while carrying that?" Himekawa asked her, stunned. It looked like it weighed at least ten pounds.

"Yeah, it's pretty light, so it's no big deal." She said, smiling as she rubbed the back of her neck.

'No, this is actually pretty heavy...' Natsume thought as he picked it up.

"If you don't want to be involved with gangs that badly, then you should just leave Ishiyama now, before you get dragged into anything." Himekawa said bluntly.

"I can't do that! I've already paid all of the school fees! I'll just have to deal with whatever comes up." Misaki said determinedly.

"_KUROKAWA MISAKI-SAMAAAA! IT'S ME, INUMURA! SARUYAMA AND KIJIMOTO ARE HERE TOO! COME OUT AND FACE US!"_ They suddenly heard someone roar from outside. Misaki face-palmed.

"... Those idiots..." Misaki mumbled exasperatedly. "I told them when I left not to come near me again!"

"Friends of yours, Misaki-chan?" Natsume asked.

"_ANE-SAAAAAN! WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!"_ Another boy, Saruyama, yelled.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that..." Misaki said, sweat dropping.


	4. Fall Seven Times, Stand Up Eight!

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

><p><em><strong>A Rose Among Thorns: Fall Seven Times, Stand Up Eight<strong>_

* * *

><p>"<strong>English speech"<strong>

"Japanese speech"

'Thoughts'

=\=\=\=\=\= Scene transition and/or time lapse

{Setting/scene}

Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)

= Sound effects =

_An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration or stuff like written letters._

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_If you don't want to be involved with gangs that badly, then you should just leave Ishiyama now, before you get dragged into anything." Himekawa said bluntly._

"_I can't do that! I've already paid all of the school fees! I'll just have to deal with whatever comes up." Misaki said determinedly._

"_KUROKAWA MISAKI-SAMAAAA! IT'S ME, INUMURA! SARUYAMA AND KIJIMOTO ARE HERE TOO! COME OUT AND FACE US!" They suddenly heard someone roar from outside. Misaki face-palmed._

"_... Those idiots..." Misaki mumbled exasperatedly. "I told them when I left not to come near me again!"_

"_Friends of yours, Misaki-chan?" Natsume asked._

"_ANE-SAAAAAN! WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" Another boy, Saruyama, yelled._

"_Yeah, I guess you could say that..." Misaki said, sweat dropping._

* * *

><p>"<em>WOULD MISAKI-SAMA, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS ONIGASHIMA'S 'IBARA-HIME' PLEASE COME TO ISHIYAMA'S FRONT GATE TO MEET HER LOYAL FOLLWERS? IF YOU DON'T, THEN I'LL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO START REVEALING YOUR DEEPEST, DARKEST SECRETS, O-HIME-SAMA!" <em>A third boy, Kijimoto shouted.

"Did they just say Onigashima High's 'Ibara-Hime'...?" Himekawa asked, surprised. He glanced at Misaki. It couldn't be...

"Geh_!_?" Misaki said in alarm as she rushed to the window, and threw it open. _"Wait, dammit!"_

"_FIRST UP!" _Kijimoto continued mercilessly._ "ALTHOUGH O-HIME-SAMA IS A FEIRCE FIGHTING MACHINE, HER UNDERWEAR IS PINK WITH POLK-A-DOTS AND LAC—"_

_= Bam!_ =

"Ah..." Saruyama and Inumura said, stunned as they watched their friend fall to the ground unconscious after being nailed, right in between the eyes, by the eraser Misaki had just beamed at him.

"I knew it! Ane-san really is in there~!" Saruyama said excitedly, overflowing with joy.

"Poor Kijimoto, we shall never forget your sacrifice." Inumura said solemnly as he started praying for his friend's soul.

"Oi... don't just kill me off as you please..." Kijimoto muttered darkly, vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"Who the hell are those idiots?" Kanzaki asked, furrowing his brow in irritation. How dare they think they can just casually stroll into Ishiyama like that?

"Ahaha, I'm sorry about that, sempais! I'll go take care of those idiots right now—be back in a jiff!" Misaki said quickly, laughing nervously as she jumped out of the second story window.

"_Wha_—_!_?" everyone in the room yelled incredulously, shocked. They ran over to the window to see how many bones she had broken, but were surprised to see her sprinting towards the three idiots at the school gate, seemingly unharmed. _What the hell!_?

"Heh. That girl's insane..." Kanzaki muttered, chagrined. Why the heck were they getting so worried anyway?

"Kanzaki. Those guys were calling for Onigashima High's 'Ibara-hime,' right?" Himekawa asked, making sure he hadn't misheard.

"Yeah. So?" Kanzaki said gruffly, not seeing where he was going with this.

"So, Mi-baka just answered to them, didn't she?" Himekawa pointed out.

"Eh?" Shiroyama said, his eyes widening in shocked realization.

"Does that mean that our Misaki-chan is _that_ 'Ibara-hime'...?" Natsume asked thoughtfully. "The one rumored to be 'stronger than any man and more beautiful than any woman—A wild rose among thorns'?"

"..." They all said as they watched Misaki bop the remaining two troublemakers on the head, and made all three of them sit in seiza while she lectured them with a vein mark throbbing on her forehead.

=\=\=\=\=\=

{With Misaki at the school gate...}

"Geez! What did you guys come here for anyway? Didn't I tell you not to come near me again_!_?" Misaki said sternly as she loomed over the three Onigashima JDs.

"Heeey_!_? What comes next_!_? Why did you stop the description of this 'Ibara-hime's' panties_!_?" Furuichi demanded as he came dashing onto the scene out of nowhere and grabbed Kijimoto by the front of his shirt, instinctively recognizing a fellow pervert. They all sweat dropped. _WTF...?_

"Ugh! Don't touch me—I hate men!" Kijimoto growled as he socked Furuichi right in the kisser and sent him flying.

"What's up, Furuichi? Why did you go running off all of a sudden?" Oga asked as he walked up with baby Be'el on his back.

"Dabu-da?" Be'el asked.

"Oh, Oga-kun, Be'el-bou! Hello again." Misaki said, smiling brightly at them as she waved at them.

"Yo. Kurosawa, right?" Oga asked as Be'el cooed happily at seeing her again.

"Actually, it's Kurokawa, but you can just call me Misaki-chan if you want. I just can't get used to how the Japanese refer to people by their family names instead of their personal names..." Misaki said, smiling wryly as she sweat dropped. "It feels weird..."

"Oh, does that mean you're returnee, Misaki-chan~?" Furuichi asked. "Come to think of it, you look like you could be part foreigner~!"

"Actually, I was born and raised in America, and my dad was half American/half Japanese... and I think I might actually prefer it if _you_ called me _Kurokawa_ instead." She said bluntly. Furuichi was creeping her out...

"Eh? Why_!_? What's with this difference in treatment between me and Oga_!_?" Furuichi cried in shock.

"Misaki-sama is usually able to instinctively sense when a person has less than honorable intentions towards herself. If she rejects you, it's because you're a pitiful excuse for a man." Inumura explained bluntly. "Therefore, you should make that 'Kurokawa-sama' when you address her!" He declared dramatically.

"Gah!" Furuichi said, turning blue with shock. H-He was a pitiful excuse for a man_!_? _No way!_

"Um, Inumura... don't you think that was a little harsh?" Misaki said, giving Furuichi a pitiful look.

"Kurokawa-chan~!" Furuchi said, touched.

"He just _creeps me out_ a little because he's a _pervert._ That's all." Misaki said bluntly, without any ill intentions—oblivious to the fact that her words were stabbing Furuichi in the heart.

"I think I'll just stick with Kurokawa too, since my sister's name is Misaki. It'll be too confusing otherwise." Oga said.

"Oh, well my friends in America used to call me 'Mimi.' I don't mind if you call me that instead." Misaki offered, smiling.

"Dah~!" Be'el cooed, nodding in agreement.

"Oh, you like that, Be'el-bou? I guess it's settled then. 'Mimi' it is." Oga said casually. The three Onigashima JDs gasped in shock.

"You... _you dare call Ane-san without an honorific!_?" Saruyama demanded darkly. "Unforgivable!" He declared as he suddenly lunged at Oga.

"_Oi, Saru—!_" Misaki yelled, moving to stop him, but it was too late.

= BAM! =

Saruyama was sent flying by Oga's inhumanly strong punch. They stared at him in surprise as Be'el cooed happily. He hadn't even hesitated before he mercilessly attacked. Misaki glanced over at the unconscious Saruyama. He looked like his nose might be broken, but other than that, he was fine... probably.

"You bastard! How dare you do that to Saruyama!" Inumura growled. I oughtta—"

"Wait." Misaki said as she placed a hand on his and Kijimoto's shoulders, holding them back. "Although I think that was too much, Sauryama attacked first. You can't blame Oga for defending himself. He has a baby on board that he has to protect, after all."

'No, no. I think you're giving Oga too much credit, Misaki-chan.' Furuichi thought, sweat dropping. Oga just reacted the same way he always did. _Without thinking_.

"True, but Saruyama was just defending you, Misaki-sama. It's considered to rude in this country to address someone you barely know without an honorific." Kijimoto reminded her.

"Yeah, but even if he meant it as an insult... that's still not anything worth punching someone over, right?" Misaki said, smiling wryly and rubbing the back of her neck. "Anyway, you guys should get out of here. What were you thinking, coming all the way to another town like this? Go back to Onigashima where you belong." She said coolly before turning and walking away.

"W-Wait, Misaki-sama! We came to bring you back! You left because of that incident from before, right?" Inumura said anxiously. "We'll become stronger in order to protect you, so—!" Misaki paused and turned back around to face them. They flinched in shock as she gazed harshly at them, her face cast partially in shadow.

"If you think I left because I was scared of Onimusha, then you're dead wrong." Misaki said sternly. "I just got tired of having to fight all the time while being dragged down by three idiots. Now. Get lost." She said coldly before continuing on her way back to the third-year school building without even so much as a backward glance.

"Mi-Misaki-sama..." Inumura said pitifully as they watched her leave.

=\=\=\=\=\=

"Yo! Sorry about that, guys. I'm back now." Misaki said, smiling brightly as she entered Kanzaki's HQ again.

"Hmph. You've put on quite a show." Himekawa said cynically.

"Yeah, just when were you planning on telling us that you were that famous 'Ibara-hime'? You claim not to want anything to do with gangs? _You—the female bancho_ of Onigashima High—the undefeated leader of over 2,000 _subordinates!_? You tryin' to make us look like fools or somethin'?" Kanzaki asked, vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"No, That's not it, Kanzaki-sempai." Misaki said, sighing deeply. "I really meant it when I said I didn't want to join any gangs. I had planned to leave that all behind me when I moved, but it looks like it followed me here too." She said, laughing hollowly. "I never even meant to become 'Ibara-hime' in the first place, you know. People used to treat me like I was some kind of fierce warrior or something, but the truth is it was a complete accident that I defeated the former bancho of Onigashima..."

Flashback

{Onigashima High, in the next town over—About a year ago}

Misaki sighed in disappointment as she washed her hands in the newly installed girl's restroom. It had been a few days since she had moved to Japan to live with her grandfather (on her mother's side), and about a year since her mother's death. Her mother, Akiyama Madoka, had been born and raised in Japan, and was the only daughter of Akiyama Masanori, the head of the Akiyama Group, a financial zaibatsu that was almost as powerful as the Himekawa Group... It also happened to be a cover for the bakuto yakuza organization, the Akiyama-gumi, that the Akiyama family has headed ever since the Edo-period. To make a long story short, Madoka had grown tired of being surrounded by violent yakuza, and had planned to elope with a foreigner she fell in love with, a half-Japanese that had come from Brooklyn, New York to be a florist in Japan, his mother's homeland. This foreigner was, of course, Misaki's father, John Shoutaro Blackburn. Since Masanori did not approve of John as a proper suitor for Madoka, Misaki's parents had decided to flee to Brooklyn together, and get married there. However, before that could happen, John was killed when he shielded the pregnant Madoka when a rival gang tried to gun her down. Madoka couldn't bear the thought of possibly being forced to marry another man, especially not when she was already pregnant with Misaki, so she fled to New York on her own, and changed her name from Akiyama to Kurokawa. She worked hard to support herself and Misaki, and they didn't have many luxuries, but they were happy and enjoyed life together. But then, when Misaki was fourteen, Madoka died when a drunk driver hit her while she was crossing a street. After that, Misaki had been cared for by her grandmother (on her father's side), but about a year after that, Grandma Blackburn had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and declared unfit to be a guardian for Misaki, since she could barely even remember that she had a granddaughter anymore. Misaki was all alone with no other living blood relatives to care for her anymore, and it looked like she might have to go into a foster home since she was still considered a child legally. It was then that Masanori had come forth to claim his granddaughter, and Misaki had decided to let him adopt her since she was curious about Japan from all the stories her mother had told her. However, Misaki was fully aware that her grandfather was yakuza, and had stated that her condition for going with him was that he had to let her decide her future for herself, and that he couldn't force her to be part of the yakuza if she didn't want to, but in return she would swear to keep their secrets, and not snitch to the police. Masanori had accepted her terms, and that brought Misaki to where she was now. Onigashima High, Masanori's old highschool. Although it had traditionally been an all-boys school, for some reason, they had decided to start accepting girls, and Masanori had immediately enrolled Misaki. Once there, Misaki quickly discovered that this school had a strange tradition where it was ruled by one banchou, the strongest fighter in the school. As a rule, whoever defeated the current banchou would become the new banchou, and would have to accept any challenges (fights) for their position.

"Geez, this is just like that manga, _Ah! Itoshi no Banchou-sama._.." Misaki mumbled, sweat dropping. 'I'm the only girl left in this school, now that all the others have transferred to normal schools, but unlike in the manga, there's no cute guy to talk to and I'm not the banchou...' She thought as she dried her hands off. 'I guess I'd better get back to class now. Hopefully it hasn't been interrupted by another fight ye—'

=WHAM!=

"...Wham?" Misaki said, sweat dropping, as she paused in the middle of exiting the girl's bathroom, still holding the door open. It felt like she had just hit something with the door...

=Thud =

"That didn't sound good..." Misaki said nervously as she peeked behind the door. _"!_?" She cried in alarm when she saw what had caused the thud. It was Onimusha, the school's banchou... and she had just taken him out with the door of the girl's bathroom... Misaki turned blue with shock. _She was sooo dead when he woke up!_

"B-Banchou..." She heard some one stutter in disbelief. Misaki glanced up to see a black-eyed Saruyama. Apparently, Onimusha had been 'teaching him a lesson' when Misaki unwittingly took him out. _"We have a new Banchooooouuu!"_ Sauyama yelled at the top of her lungs as he took off running down the school hallway, shouting about Misaki's 'victory' over Onimusha...

End flashback

"So, you see, it really was just an accident that I became banchou..." Misaki said, sweat dropping. They all stared at her, stunned. What was up with this 'tragic shoujou manga heroine' type of life she had been leading_!_? She'd better not be bull shitting them!

"But... didn't Onimusha have to be hospitalized after you hit him?" Natsume asked.

"Yeah, I didn't think there was anyone there, so I had thrown the door open pretty hard." Misaki said, nodding. "I heard that he had a broken nose, and a hairline fracture in his skull. He's lucky it wasn't worse. I have a pretty freaky amount of strength." She said frankly.

"I see. So this 'freaky strength' of yours is what let you take over the school?" Himekawa asked. She might be worth hiring...

"Well, I actually wasn't much of a fighter in the beginning, but I'm an expert at running away, so I wasn't really in any real danger... but it was really annoying because I didn't know how to control my strength, so I ended up missing a lot of class since I didn't want to accidentally hospitalize anyone. Explaining myself to my grandfather and the others at home was just too troublesome! Every day after school, it'd be— Ojou-sama, how many of those little bastards did you burry today? This is great practice for when you take over the group! Ready for more 'special training'? Tell me if they make you cry, or put a scar on your skin, so I can beat them for you— they all kept saying stuff like that, even though I kept telling them I didn't want to. I know they meant well, but it was frickin' annoying that they kept ignoring my wishes." Misaki explained, chagrined. "I think what really sealed my fate was when I ended up saving those three from some upper classmen one day... I had just managed to lose the guys chasing me when I stumbled across Saruyama, Inumura, and kijimoto fighting half a dozen upperclassmen by themselves. For a moment, I was tempted to just let them handle it themselves, but they were losing pretty badly, and I heard one of their attackers saying that it 'served them right' for speaking out in my defense when they were talking smack about me. So, naturally I just couldn't leave them to die alone after that, and I kicked their asses. The three of them said they were indebted to me after that, and stuck to me like white on rice—no matter how many times I tried to ditch them."

"They do seem pretty useless." Shiroyama said, sweat dropping as he looked out the window. The three Onigashima JDs were still exactly where she had left them... and it looked like one of them was actually crying...

"Ahem. Just so you know, only I'm aloud to insult them...?" Misaki said, trailing off when she realized that she didn't know his name yet.

"Shiroyama." Shiroyama said, sweat dropping again.

"I'm Natsume." Natsume said.

"Cool, nice to make your acquaintance, again. You guys can all just call me Misaki, Mimi, or Mi-chan. Whatever floats your boat." Misaki said, smiling. "Anyway, they're not that bad, and it was kind of fun hanging out with them... when I wasn't beating the crap out JDs out of self-defense, or to save their sorry butts..."

"Tch. I still can't believe _you're_ Ibara-hime. From the rumors I've heard, I thought the female banchou was a clever, sexy, and big breasted nee-chan—not some skinny kid." Kanzaki muttered, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. "Give me back my fantasy!"

"TMI, dude... TMI." Misaki said, sweat dropping. "Just what kind of rumors are flying around out there to make you think that anyway?"

"They say Ibara-hime, aka you, is a girl who is 'stronger than any man, and more beautiful than any woman.' 'A sleeping beauty who's fierce nature only awakens when she is most needed.' And 'in a school full of boys, she is a rose amongst thorns.'" Natsume explained.

"Seriously?" Misaki asked, sweat dropping. "Rather than a beautiful princess, I felt more like Momotaro slaying countless demons every day..."

"Who even came up with the name 'Ibara-hime' anyway?" Shiroyama asked.

"I don't know, but I remember someone commenting about how I was unreasonably tough for someone who wore rose perfume, and had pink hair... I think I said something along the lines of 'there's no such thing as a rose without thorns'... Maybe that was it? Also, My middle name is actually 'Briar-Rose' because it was my father's favorite flower... He's also the one I inherited this strawberry-blond hair from. It was really pretty when it was long..." Misaki said thoughtfully.

"If you got along so well with eachother, then why did you treat them so coldly?" Shiroyama asked her. Misaki smiled a little sadly at that.

"It's because I had to leave... I wasn't going to be there to protect them anymore." Misaki said. "If they keep relying on me, they'll never get any stronger."

=\=\=\=\=\=

"So, you see, Misaki-sama is a really nice girl—That's why it really shocked me seeing Misaki-sama with such a cold expression on her face..." Inumura said sorrowfully as he sat down next to the still unconscious Saruyama.

"Yeah, she's normally forgiving to the point of being a good-natured idiot. That girl is crazy strong, an she can have a nasty temper, but she really doesn't have an evil bone in her body." Kijimoto explained to Oga and Furuichi, who had decided to stick around and listen to their story for some unknown reason while Oga fed Be'el his milk. "She treated us in a similar manner before, the day she left Onigashima High, but that was because there were other Onigashima students there, and she didn't want us to get in trouble for associating with her... At least, that's what we thought, but now... I'm not so sure."

"What do you mean? Does this have to do with that 'incident' you mentioned before?" Furuichi asked. Kijimoto nodded.

"Yeah. A few days ago, Onimusha came to school, and set up an ambush for us at the school gates with a whole bunch of hired thugs. Misaki-sama was in top form that day, and she was effortlessly defeating them all... until they tasered us." Kijimoto explained. "Misaki-sama somehow managed to keep from being paralyzed by it, but Onimusha threatened to start breaking all the bones in our bodies, unless she let him beat her... _So she did_."

Flashback

"Hahah! Finally!" Onismusha laughed maniacally as he repeatedly kicked Misaki in the stomach. Misaki just gritted her teeth and bore it, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of hearing her whimper in pain. "Now..." Onimusha said, grinning evilly as he pulled out a knife and grabbed a handful of her hair, yanking her head up so he could look her in the eye. "Say it."

"Ngh! Say... what?" Misaki asked as she spit the blood in her mouth onto the ground, not really caring how nasty it looked at the moment.

"Say you'll give me back the title of Banchou, or I'll carve you up like Kuchisake-onna!" Onimusha growled angrily as he held his knife next to her face. Misaki glanced at her friends out the corner of her eye. They still couldn't move, and she didn't want them to get hurt. They were only being targeted in the first place because they openly associated with her. However, if she gave the title of banchou back to Onimusha, he'd probably make them suffer anyway for revenge. Misaki had already decided that this would be her last day at Onigashima since she was leaving town, but that meant the others would be stuck here without her protection... and the situation would go back to how it had been before she had arrived. Over time, a lot of the boys had come to accept her as banchou since she was so strong, and she was a fair leader too. Going to school was fun for everyone now, and Misaki had even defeated the gang leaders of some neighboring schools when she found out they were harassing Onigashima students. Ibara-hime was a champion of the underdogs, and she had earned the respect of the top dogs too. There were still fights of course, but they were friendlier in nature than they had been previously. She had led Onigashima into their 'golden age.' Of course, this only pissed Onimusha off even more, and she had no doubt that he would make all their lives a living hell.

"_Didn't I tell you to say it!_?" Onimusha growled impatiently as he swung his knife.

=Slash!=

"!" Everyone gasped when silky locks of strawberry-blond hair fell to the ground. Thankfully, Onimusha hadn't actually cut her face, but he had just sliced part of Misaki's beautiful long hair so short! What kind of bastard cuts a girl's hair like that_!_?

'That settles it then...' Misaki thought gravely, her decision made. She took a deep breath before staring Onimusha right in the eyes. "The position of school banchou... _I will never, never give the title of school banchou to someone like you!_!" Misaki yelled defiantly as she snatched the knife out of his hands, and used it to cut the rest of her hair too. 'I have to protect them as best as I can, while I'm still able too!' She thought determinedly.

"You bitch!" Onimusha yelled angrily as he took a swing at her.

=Wham!=

"—_!_?" Onimusha grunted in paint and surprise when Misaki grabbed his arm and flipped him onto his back.

"You have five seconds. _Get out of my school."_ Misaki said darkly as she glared harshly at him, aiming the knife at him to show how serious she was. For the first time in his life, Onimusha shuddered in fear.

End Flashback

"After that, Onimusha ran away with his tail between his legs, shouting that he'd get revenge." Kijimoto finished.

"After he was gone, and Misaki-sama had beaten the guys that had been holding us hostage, she basically 'disowned' us in front of the whole school, and said she was 'retiring' from her banchou position. She invited the whole school to come at her all at once in a battle royal, and the last one standing, or the one who lasted the longest against her, would be the next banchou." Inumura added. "In the end a senior named Nishiyama was declared the winner by Misaki-sama, and he inherited the title of banchou from her. Then she told everyone that it was actually her last day as a student at Onigashima, and she was moving to another town."

"We'd never even heard anything about her moving before! We tried to chase after her, but we were still too numb from the taser to move..." Saruyama added dejectedly.

'When did he wake up...?' Furuichi wondered.

"If you really want to know why she left so badly, then you should just ask her. No matter how big of an idiot you are, you wouldn't take a beating like that for someone you hate." Oga said frankly as he stood up and started walking away with Be'el on his shoulders. "Man, am I hungry! I hope they didn't run out of yakisoba buns..."

"Ah, wait up Oga!" Furuichi yelled as he ran after his friend.

"..." The three Onigashima JDs exchanged a glance with each other.

"Ahaha, we really are idiots, aren't we...?'" Kijimoto asked, smiling self-depreciatingly as he laughed bitterly at himself. Just what were they thinking, doubting her like that...?


	5. Some Bonds Can't Be Cut!

I own nothing but my OC.

* * *

><p><em><strong>A Rose Amongst Thorns: There are some bonds that just can't be cut!<strong>_

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><p>"<strong>English speech"<strong>

"Japanese speech"

'Thoughts'

=\=\=\=\=\= Scene transition and/or time lapse

{Setting/scene}

Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)

= Sound effects =

_An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration or stuff like written letters._

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><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_If you really want to know why she left so badly, then you should just ask her. No matter how big of an idiot you are, you wouldn't take a beating like that for someone you hate." Oga said frankly as he stood up and started walking away with Be'el on his shoulders. "Man, am I hungry! I hope they didn't run out of yakisoba buns..." _

"_Ah, wait up Oga!" Furuichi yelled as he ran after his friend._

"_..." The three Onigashima JDs exchanged a glance with each other._

"_Ahaha, we really are idiots, aren't we...?'" Kijimoto asked, smiling self-depreciatingly as he laughed bitterly at himself. Just what were they thinking, doubting her like that...?_

* * *

><p>"So, basically, you're distancing yourself from them in order to protect them so that they won't be targets for the other JDs at Onigashima that might still have a grudge against you?" Himekawa asked, summing up everything Misaki had told them.<p>

"What a touching friendship...!" Shiroyama said, so touched that he was tearing up slightly. It reminded him of how he felt about Kanzaki.

"Yosh, Mi-chan's such a good kid." Natsume said, smiling as he patted her on the head. There was something about Misaki that reminded people of a small animal, and made them want to protect her...

"Um, yeah... but could you please not treat me like a dog?" Misaki asked, smiling wryly as she sweat dropped.

"Tch. Drink this and forget that Onimusha bastard." Kanzaki said as he tossed her one of the Yogurty boxes. It was better than letting it go to waste, since there was no way he'd be able to finish all of them by himself.

"Thanks, Kanzaki-sempai." Misaki said, smiling gratefully as she poked the straw into the box and started drinking. "Oh! This is pretty good~!"

"I know, right." Kanzaki said, smirking. No one could resist Yogurty.

=_Slam=_

The door suddenly flew open as the Onigashima trio burst into the room.

"Misaki-sama—!" They cried, stopping short when they saw the room full of JDs that were all at least Onimusha's level or higher. Damn, talk about 'out of the frying pan and into the fire'... Ishiyama really was on a whole different level from Onigashima. Misaki's eyes widened slightly in surprise when she saw them.

"You guys... You're still here?" She asked them, wondering if she was hallucinating.

"Of course! You can't get rid of us that easily!" Saruyama declared defiantly.

"Even if we really believed you hated us, do you really think we'd just accept it and leave without an explanation?" Kijimoto asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Are you all right in this place? They aren't bullying you, are they?" Inumura asked seriously.

"Ah, no... We're actually getting along unexpectedly well..." Misaki said, sweat dropping as she smiled wryly. "I guess you're right though... I should at least trust you guys enough to explain my reason for leaving town." She said, sighing resignedly.

"Oh? Let us in on this conversation too, will you?" Himekawa said, smirking. This should be interesting. After hearing her story, it was hard to imagine something that could make this idiotically stubborn girl run away.

"Sure, I guess I might as well, since everyone will probably find out sooner or later, once grandpa figures out where I am..." Misaki said, shrugging. "The truth is I left town and transferred to Ishiyama because... _My grandpa tried to set me up in an arranged marriage."_ She said, dead serious.

"..." They all said as they stared at her, stunned.

"An arranged marriage...?" Kanzaki asked in disbelief.

"Is that all?" Himekawa asked skeptically. She had runaway and resorted to living on the streets and instant ramen from the ¥100 store because of such a stupid reason...?

"But, Misaki-sama... didn't you have a deal with the Oyabun that if you came to live with him, then you would be able to choose your future for yourself?" Kijimoto pointed out.

'That's right! He can't force you to do this, or he'll be going back on his word!" Saruyama said.

"Does that mean he has to cut off his pinky finger?" Inumura asked. Misaki sweat dropped.

"No, I wouldn't make him do that... besides, he claims that that promise only applied to whether or not I'd take over an active role as part of the Akiyama Group, so marriage doesn't count." Misaki said, sweat dropping.

"Tch! Akiyama-jiji likes to play dirty, doesn't he." Kijimoto said darkly, scowling in disapproval.

"Yeah, but don't let him hear you call him that. _He'll kill you._" Misaki said bluntly. "So, you get why I had to leave, right? Even if my grandpa said I only had to attend the meeting, odds are that once he got me there, he'd force me to sign all the paperwork no matter how I felt about the guy. I just happened to end up at Ishiyama because it was the only school I could afford on my own..."

"Who did he want you to marry anyway?" Saruyama asked.

"Oh, some 'Tatsuya' guy... I think he said it was the son of someone in the Himekawa Group—Ah, that's right! Hime-sempai, you're a Himekawa, right? Do you know who it could..." Misaki asked, trailing off when she noticed that all of the Ishiyama JDs seemed to have turned blue with shock. "Is something wrong...?" She asked, concerned.

"Oi, Himekawa... isn't your name Tatsuya...?" Kanzaki asked, recovering slightly from his shock.

"Shit. Come to think of it, my old man mentioned something about setting up an Omai a couple of days ago..." Himekawa said, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sighed in disbelief. He could feel a headache coming on. "I refused, of course... but to think it was you..."

"Eh? Seriously_!_? The 'Tatsuya' Grandpa mentioned is Hime-sempai_!_?" Misaki shouted in disbelief.

"Hahaha! You went through so much trouble to runaway, only to end up at the exact same school as your unwanted fiancé! What an interesting turn of events." Natsume said, smiling in amusement at the irony.

"No way! You mean, Akiyama-jiji tried to set Misaki-sama up with that duck-butt hairstyle guy_!_?" Inumura cried incredulously, flinching in shock. They all sweat dropped as a vein mark throbbed on Himekawa's forehead. _Duck-butt...?_

"I object!" Saruyama added. "If Misaki-sama must marry, then I'll be more than happy to—!"

"Shut up! Don't cause trouble for Misaki-sama." Kijjimoto scolded them, whacking them on their heads. "That's my job."

"No, it isn't." Misaki deadpanned, bopping Kijimoto on the head.

"It's like watching a group of comedians..." Shiroyama said, sweat dropping. Was this really the group that had controlled Onigashima...? It was unbelievable.

"Anyway, I didn't tell you guys, because I didn't want my location to be revealed to my grandpa, but since I ended up at a school for JDs... I'll probably end up getting caught up in something that catches his attention sooner or later." Misaki said, sweat dropping.

"What, you think we'd tell?" Kijimoto asked, offended.

"..." Misaki said as she glanced at Inumura. "I don't think you'd do it on purpose, but someone here has a hard time controlling what comes out of his mouth..."

"Ah, that's true..." Saruyama said, sweat dropping as he and Kijimoto also glanced at Inumura. Half of the fights they'd gotten into had been because of something Inumura said without thinking... like when he just called a member if Ishiyama's Tohoshinki 'duck-butt'.

"Huh? Who are you talking about? Is it Kijimoto?" Inumura asked, confused.

"It's you, dammit!" Kijimoto yelled, vein mark throbbing on his forehead as he smacked Inumura upside the head.

"Kijimoto, please don't hit his head so often... I have a feeling that's how he got like this..." Misaki said, sweat dropping.

"No way, Inumura has been like this since birth." Saruyama said, waving her worries away.

"Well, since you're set on staying here—I guess we'll just have to transfer to Ishiyama too." Kijimoto said determinedly.

"Wait, how did you come to that conclusion?" Misaki asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "The whole reason I 'disowned' you in front of the whole school was so that no one would target you for being associated with me, and if you move here too, my grandpa will definitely realize this is where I went! Besides, your families will be worried if you run away. Do you want to make your mothers cry, you jerks?" She asked, narrowing her eyes slightly at them in disapproval.

"But you're worrying your family too, you know! Akiyama-jiji came to school looking for you and everything!" Inumura said earnestly.

"Yeah, although he kept calling you an idiot with a really cold expression on his face, it's obvious how worried he is since he actually tried looking for you." Kijimoto said.

"He's probably more willing to listen to what you have to say now!" Saruyama said hopefully.

"... You guys... I know you haven't really talked that much with him since I didn't invite you over to my house, because I didn't want you to get dragged into yakuza business, but that's not how he works." Misaki said, sighing deeply. "In Grandpa's case, he's looking for me... _because he's pissed._ If I go back now, He'll just lock me in my room and ground me for a year—He'll probably find someway to blame me fore Hime-sempai's disinterest in an arranged marriage too." She said matter-of-factly. "I'll never see the sun again."

"Your grandpa sounds really annoying." Kanzaki said bluntly.

"Yeah, he's really strict and old-fashioned... He made me go through traditional etiquette lessons and everything... I should have realized something was up." Misaki said, chagrined.

"But you'd think he'd be a little concerned that his granddaughter went missing. You are a girl, after all." Shiroyama said.

"Nah, it's okay. I'm from Brooklyn." Misaki said with a serious gleam in her eye, as though it explained everything. "Besides, it's not like you really _need_ a house to live. I just got the ossan at the Supermarket to let me have all the wooden pallets he was going to throw away, and used that to make a shelter under the bridge by the river near here. I was just waiting for the glue on the rice paper I used to dry." She explained.

"But what are you going to do for food, water, and hygienic needs? What happens when winter comes?" Kijimoto asked skeptically.

"That's easy. I got a job at a convenience store, and the manager already told me I could have the stuff he'd normally throw away once it passed its 'sell by' date, so I get both money and food from that. The river is close to a park, so I can just keep several gallon jugs of water that I fill up at the public drinking fountains, and I can use the public restrooms too. I can shower and stuff here at school, or even at the Laundromat I plan on washing my clothes at. I found out they have showers that you can use for ¥5." Misaki said.

"Wow. You've really thought this whole thing out well, haven't you?" Saruyama asked, stunned.

"Of course! Only an idiot would runaway from home without a plan. The streets will chew you up and spit you out if you're too naïve." Misaki said bluntly.

"Oooh! As expected of Misaki-sama~!" Inumura said, his eyes sparkling as he stared at her in awe. Himekawa sweat dropped. She had mentioned that she had a job before, but not that she had already started on her own shelter... she was surprisingly industrious and practical for such an idiot...

"If you have a job, why didn't you just get an apartment?" Kanzaki asked skeptically.

"Well, to be honest, the only ones I could afford after paying the school fees were actually in no better condition than a gas station restroom that hadn't been cleaned for years... Honestly, that building should be condemned. So yeah, after that a pallet house didn't seem so bad." Misaki said, sweat dropping.

"You still haven't mentioned what you'll do for winter." Kijimoto pointed out.

"For winter... I'll think of something. If I can't afford a decent apartment by then, if push comes to shove, I'll just sleep in the school, or the break room at my job, or even in the corner of another store that's open for 24 hours." Misaki said, shrugging. They all sweat dropped.

"Just go home if it comes to that." Himekawa said, chagrined. What the hell was wrong with this girl? What kind of idiot would choose such a humiliating lifestyle over living comfortably at home? The Akiyama Group was almost as rich as his family was.

"Well, whatever happens, we'll be there if you need us! Just give us a call—no matter what the day, time, or weather—we'll be at your service!" Saruyama declared as he, Kijimoto, and Inumura grinned fondly at her.

"Thanks, you guys are the best." Misaki said as she hugged them.

"Ugh. Just watching that warm and fuzzy scene is giving me a cavity..." Kanzaki said, chagrined. Were they really JDs?

"Oh, but I won't be calling from my cell phone, so if you see a weird number, it's probably me." Misaki said, smiling wryly.

"Why? Is you cell phone not working?" Kijimoto asked, confused.

"No, I just left it at home since my grandpa had a special GPS tracking device added to it. He would've found me right away." She said honestly, sweat dropping.

"... You have a really weird family." Shiroyama said, sweat dropping.

"Tell me about it." Misaki said, smiling wyly. "Anyway, since it doesn't look like we have any real classes at this school, I walk you guys to the train station." She told the three Onigashima JDs.

=\=\=\=\=\=

{Several hours later...}

"Hm... I wonder what's taking Mi-chan so long to get back?" Natsume said thoughtfully. It had been pretty quiet since she left, and Natsume was starting to get bored. Himekawa had gone back to his own territory since his business with repaying Kanzaki in Yogurty was done. There had been some suspicious noises coming from the first and second-year buildings, but that was probably just Oga fighting again.

"Who cares. She probably just decided to skip the rest of day. School's about to end anyway." Kanzaki said carelessly as he sipped his Yogurty.

=\=\=\=\=\=

{Meanwhile...}

"All right, that should do it!" Misaki said happily as she finished putting the finishing touches on her new shelter/home. The train Kijimoto and the others rode home had taken a while to get there, so Misaki decided to just go ahead and finish working on her house since school would be almost over by the time she got back anyway. "Not bad, if I do say so myself." She said, smiling proudly at her handiwork.

"Yes, not bad at all, for a runaway." A deep voice said from a few feet behind her. Misaki froze. She knew that voice. "Good job on managing to hide from us for so long."

=\=\=\=\=\=

"Hmph. In the end that idiot never came back today..." Himekawa said absentmindedly as he stared out the window of his car while the chauffeur drove him back to his apartment now that school was over. He still couldn't believe his old man had tried to set him up with such a weird girl, but it probably had something to do with how powerful The Himekawa Group and the Akiyama Groups would be if they combined forces. Not to mention that he was a member of Ishiyama's Tohoshinki, so if Akiyama's oyabun was looking for an heir, he'd actually be a pretty good candidate... not that he'd ever seriously consider an arranged marriage, especially not with Misaki, whom he could see was currently being chased down the street by a group of really impressive looking thugs... _Wait, what?_

Himekawa whipped his head around to stare out the back window of the car. Sure enough, there she was. Kurokawa Misaki was sprinting incredibly fast as she weaved in and out of the semi-crowded streets, trying to lose her dangerous pursuers.

"..." Himekawa said as he briefly wondered if he should help her or not. Nah. On second thought, he'd rather not get involved. He wasn't going to risk his neck for someone he barely even knew.


	6. Families are like fudge

I own nothing but my OC.

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><p><em><strong>A Rose Among Thorns: Families are like fudge—mostly sweet with a few nuts!<strong>_

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><p>"<strong>English speech"<strong>

"Japanese speech"

'Thoughts'

=\=\=\=\=\= Scene transition and/or time lapse

{Setting/scene}

Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)

= Sound effects =

_An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration or stuff like written letters._

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

_Sure enough, there she was. Kurokawa Misaki was sprinting incredibly fast as she weaved in and out of the semi-crowded streets, trying to lose her dangerous pursuers._

"_..." Himekawa said as he briefly wondered if he should help her or not. Nah. On second thought, he'd rather not get involved. He wasn't going to risk his neck for someone he barely even knew._

* * *

><p>=Ka-chak=<p>

For some reason, Himekawa felt that the sound of his door closing seemed to be louder than usual in his quiet apartment. Weird, he had never really noticed how quiet it was before, until Misaki had stayed there the previous night. She had been chattering away non-stop until she went to bed. At the time it had been rather annoying, but now... No—it's not like he missed her or anything! Himekawa shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts.

"I wonder if she got away okay..." He thought out loud.

"Yeah. Just fine, no thanks to you." Misaki deadpanned as she peeped out from behind his leather couch, nearly giving Himekawa a heart attack. How the hell did she beat him there_!_? How did she even get in without a key_!_?

"H-How did you get in here_!_?" He demanded incredulously.

"Well, after you so callously drove away and left me behind to deal with those guys, I somehow managed to lose them by cutting through several back alleyways. Thank God I know parkour!" Misaki said, sighing in relief as she flopped down onto the couch as if she owned the place. "I didn't know where else to go, so I just came here, and told your manager that you asked me to get something for you, but forgot to give me a key, and he let me in. Your security really sucks."

"Don't just enter people's homes as you please!" Himekawa muttered darkly as a vein mark throbbed on his forehead. Someone was definitely getting fired for this. "You've lost them, so you can go now, right?"

"Wrong. They know where my shelter by the river is, and they're probably all over this town searching for me by now. If I leave, they'll find me." Misaki said, frowning slightly at her dilemma. "Those guys were from the Akiyama Group, so they probably won't leave until they find me, but I'm not ready to go back just yet. At least not without a fight."

"That sounds like a personal problem to me." Himekawa said bluntly as he started ushering her towards the door so he could kick her out. "I let you stay here last night because you had something I wanted. Now that I can afford to eat again, there's nothing you have that I want."

"Oh, come on! You're not seriously going to throw me under the bus like this, are you_!_?" Misaki cried in alarm as she tried to grab onto something so he couldn't get rid of her.

"Just watch me." Himekawa said mercilessly as he threw open his door.

"Ah." The group of thugs standing outside his doorway said, slightly surprised that he had opened the door before they even had a chance to knock or ring the doorbell. Not only that, but he was holding Misaki up by the collar of her uniform. "O—_Ojou-samaaaaa!"_ They shouted anxiously as they suddenly burst into tears and tackled Misaki (and Himekawa, since he was holding her) back into the room.

"Waaah!" Misaki yelped in shock and surprise when she found herself being cuddled and petted by her grandfather's subordinates like a long-lost puppy. Who would've thought such imposing men could be so affectionate... Himekawa sweat dropped, chagrined. He had managed to escape the dog pile somehow, but still—What the hell was wrong with these people_!_? He was just surrounded by idiots.

"Ojou-sama! We missed you sooo muuuch!" A thirty-year-old man who had his long hair pulled back into a ponytail cried as he clung to Misaki as though she were a lifeline.

"How could you just leave us like that_!_?" A twenty-eight-year-old man man with chestnut-brown hair demanded as he grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Do you know how worried the boss has been_!_? Not only that, but we've been stuck eating Tanaka's horrific cooking ever since you left!" A forty-year-old man with a buzz cut and a small scar underneath his right eye scolded her sternly.

"Ahaha... looks like you finally caught me, Gen-oji-san..." Misaki said, smiling nervously. _'I am so dead...!'_ She thought.

"Hmph. If you come with us quietly like an adult, then I might consider leaving out the part about how we finally found you in an apartment, alone with a man, when I tell the head what you've been up to while you were gone." The forty-year-old man, Gen, said as he karate chopped her on the head. "And you two..." Gen said, turning to address his comrades in arms. "Don't just take advantage of the situation to get closer to her, Jun, Shin!" He scolded the two of them as he slammed their heads together. Himekawa sweat dropped. Yeah, he was starting to see why she might want to run away now...

"Ugh! But Gen-oyaji, it's been so long since there's been a girl in the HQ! I was starting to go crazy!" The chestnut-haired man, Shin protested, vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"That's right~! Do you know how hard it was being the only woman there!" The ponytailed man, Jun said in a girly voice. Himekawa was so disturbed that he got goosebumps. Was this guy an okama?

"Oh, please! No matter what you say, anyone can tell from looking that you're 100% male, dumbass!" Shin snapped at him.

"Waaah~! Do you see what I've had to deal with while you were gone, Mi-tan_!_?" Jun cried dramatically as he threw himself at Misaki (who had started to stealthily make her way to the exit) again. "You're the only one who understands me!"

"C-Can't... breathe...! You're... crushing... me...Jun-nee..." Misaki said weakly as she struggled to break free from Jun's bone-crushing hug.

"Serves you right." Gen deadpanned. "Just carry her like that, Jun. The boss is waiting in the ca—"

"_This had better not be what this looks like, Misaki."_ Akiyama Masanori said darkly, causing them all to flinch in shock. When did he get there_!_? Masanori glared at Himekawa as a murderous aura radiated from the old man.

"Ah! Grandpa! It's totally not what you guys are thinking! He's just a classmate! I... I just came to borrow a textbook—Yeah, for math homework—Right?" Misaki said nervously, not wanting to get Himekawa hurt because of her mistake. "_You..."_ Masanori said, addressing Himekawa. Himekawa narrowed his eyes as he stared back at Masanori, not wanting to give into the old man's intimidation. Misaki's eyes widened slightly in surprise, impressed. Not many people could look her grandpa in the eye like that. It was like staring down the demon king as he stood at the mouth of hell. "You're Tatsuya-kun, Himekawa-san's boy, right?" Masanori asked, smiling pleasantly (?) as he patted Himekawa on the shoulder. "My, you've grown so much since the last time I saw you, that I barely even recognized you! And what's with that weird hairstyle? Is this what's in with the young people now? I think you'd look better without it. Right, Misaki?" He said frankly. They all sweat dropped. What was with that sudden change in attitude...?

"Uh... yeah...sure." Misaki said, sweat dropping. _Awkwaaard!_

'I see... crazy must run in the family...' Himekawa thought, chagrined, as a vein mark throbbed on his forehead. He was already fed up with these people.

"I see, I see. I thought you ran away because you hated the idea, but I now I know you actually came to meet your fiancé ahead of time, eh. If you wanted to meet Tatsuya-kun that badly, you could've just told me honestly. You're such a shy girl when it comes to romance, unlike your mother..." Masanori told Misaki indulgently, smiling like a doting grandparent as he patted her on the head. "However..." He said gravely, glancing at Himekawa again. "_Don't get ahead of yourself, boy_. I know our little Misaki is adorable, but _you can't lay a hand on her until it's a done deal, got it?"_

"Grandpa, I said it's not like that!" Misaki yelled indignantly, blushing out of embarrassment.

"Tch. I didn't even touch her!" Himekawa said, beyond irritated. What was wrong with these people_!_?

"Huhhh_!_? Are you trying to say there's something wrong with my cute little Misaki_!_? Has all that hair gel gone to your head, boy_!_?" Masanori demanded, vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"Boss, should I take care of him for you?" Jun asked, reaching into his jacket for a weapon.

"_**Listen to me, dammit!"**_ Misaki shouted at the top of her lungs, causing them all to flinch in shock.

"Oh, damn! We made her mad..." Shin said nervously, shaking slightly as he remembered the last time she had yelled like that.

"Grandpa, didn't you read the letter I left behind for you? It explained everything about why I left, and my conditions for coming back." Misaki said seriously as she stared down the Akiyama Group's boss fearlessly.

"Hmph. That thing?" Masanori asked, crossing his arms as he raised an eyebrow at her. "I was so angry with you for running away, that I ripped it to shreds without even opening it!" He said defiantly. A vein mark throbbed on Misaki's forehead.

"_What the hell, old man!_?" Misaki shouted incredulously. "Tch! And after all that, you're seriously still wondering why I wanted a break from you guys_!_? If someone goes to the trouble of writing you a letter you should frickin' read it!"

"Wow, Mi-tan is just as scary as the boss when she gets mad... but in a cute way~!" Jun whispered as he/she, Shin, and Gen hid behind Himekawa's couch for cover while Misaki ranted at their fearsome leader.

"What the hell are you doing?" Himekawa asked them, chagrined. He was seconds away from just throwing them all out of his home—famous Yakuza be damned!

"Anyway, you said that 'as long as I lived under your roof, I would have to live by your rules.' So I left the house to live on my own. Problem solved." Misaki said simply, crossing her arms as she stared defiantly at her grandfather.

"No, you just created a whole _new_ set of problems." Gen deadpanned.

"I'm doing this for your sake, you know! You're already sixteen, and you still don't have any idea what you want to do with your life! To top it all off, you're cute, but you inherited your father's freaky strength—What man do you think is going to want a bride that's stronger than him, huh_!_? Do you think someone is just going to suddenly appear to sweep you off of your feet like he did with your mother? Life is not a bed of roses! I don't understand why you're being so obstinate!" Masanori said, sighing irritably as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Someone will!" Misaki retorted stubbornly. "Besides, _you're_ the obstinate one! This is why my parents wanted to elope to America! Learn your lesson already, old man! And I've never understood that saying anyway! Why would anyone want to lay on a bed of roses_!_? Sure the flowers are soft, but the thorns on their stems would frickin' hurt if you tried to lay on top of them! They'd poke you through the flowers! Thinking that way, life _is_ like a bed of roses—At first everything seems to be going great, but as you get older, and you're life gets heavier, you start to feel the thorns. The deeper you go, the more likely it is you'll get hurt, but that's something that can't be helped. If you want to pick the flower, you have to be mindful of the thorns. Whether you mourn that the sweet flowers have thorns, or rejoice that the thorns also have sweet flowers is up to you. As for me, I don't mind getting scratched here and there as I find my way. No matter what happens, I'll keep fighting through the thorns until I find a flower that can touch my soul!" Misaki declared bravely. "This is my philosophy for life and love!"

"Ojou-sama..." Shin said as they all stared at her, stunned. She had just spoken so magnificently... just as passionate and strong as one would expect from a woman who was part of a yakuza family!

'That girl... she might be an idiot, but she's a pretty good woman after all..." Himekawa thought, smiling wryly to himself as he readjusted his glasses.

"..." Masanori said as he stared calmly at his stubborn granddaughter. "Hmph. Your mother was perfectly fine with the husband I had picked out for her until your father came along, but I'll forgive that bastard for stealing my daughter since I have a granddaughter that's ten times cuter now." He said seriously as he ruffled Misaki's hair, smiling proudly at her. "It's a real shame. I thought I could finally have a chance to raise you, but you've already grown into quite the young woman... I'll talk to Himekawa-san again for you. I won't make you go back home with us, but you should at least stay in a real house or apartment. I'll let you stay with Tatsuya-kun again tonight, but you'd better not do anything _inappropriate_, understand?" Masanori said, aiming that very last part at Himekawa.

"Tch. Fine, fine. Just get the hell out of my apartment. I already said I'm not interested in your precious granddaughter like that!" Himekawa said, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. After dealing with these annoying geezers, Misaki was practically an angel in comparison...

"All right. I'll come back in the morning to bring you two to school, so I can say goodbye to Misaki and let you know what Himekawa-san has to say after I let him know the situation." Masanori said decisively. "Until tomorrow, then." He said, bidding them farewell as he left, followed by his men.

"Good night, Ojou-sama~!" Jun said, winking as he left.

"Remember to keep your hands to yourself, Tatsuya-kun." Shin said menacingly.

"Be a good girl and eat all of your vegetables." Gen told Misaki as he dragged Shin out the door, and Himekawa slammed it shut and locked it as soon as they were out.

"Tch. No wonder you ran away..." Himekawa said, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. Words could not express how relieved he was that those annoying old geezers were gone.

"Yeah, but they're not bad people... just really annoying since they don't listen to what others have to say..." Misaki said, sweat dropping. "I'm sorry about this Hime-sempai. I didn't think they'd find me here... Since your servants are still on holiday, how about I cook supper as an apology?"

"Hmph! What's done is done. Just be quick about it." Himekawa said dismissively. "I'm starvin'."

=\=\=\=\=\=

Himekawa stared at the dinner Misaki had just set out before him. She had cooked cha-han, chicken teriyaki, vegetable tempura, and tamagoyaki. It looked and smelled a lot better than what he had been expecting. This was restaurant quality food.

"What's wrong? Did I make something you don't like?" Misaki asked concerned when she realized Himekawa was just staring at his food.

"Ah, no... I was just surprised." Himekawa said as he picked up his chopsticks. "Itadakimasu." He said as he began eating. Himekawa froze when he tasted it. This food... was _amazing!_ "This is... pretty good." Himekawa said as he began to gobble down his food.

"Really? Thanks! I'm glad you like it." Misaki said happily as she started eating her own meal. She liked to see people's happy faces when they ate her food.

=\=\=\=\=\=

{The next morning, on the way to school...}

"So, here's the deal, Misaki, Tatsuya-kun." Masanori said as he rode in the back of his limo with the kids. "I told Himekawa-san the situation, but as I thought, it seems he's still set on having Misaki for a daughter-in-law."

"Eh?" Misaki said, confused.

"Wait, the way you say that makes it sound like this whole thing was my old man's idea." Himekawa said, furrowing his brow slightly.

"It was, actually. When I went to see a well-known matchmaker for Misaki, your father was there too. He took one look at Misaki's picture, and said he fell in love with the idea of having her as a daughter-in-law. So we talked it out between us, and he told me his concerns that you were becoming a playboy who used money to attract women, and how he was worried you'd end up being a bachelor forever, and he wanted to at least see the face of his first grandchild before he died." Masanori explained, wiping a tear from his eye, showing how touched he had been by the other man's plight. "I understood how he felt, since It was years before I was able to see Misaki myself, so I agreed."

"Don't just set me up with a womanizer without my permission!" Misaki said, chagrined.

"Well, I figured if anyone could straighten him out, it'd be you, since you'd never let someone get away with cheating on you." Masanori said frankly. "I thought having a rich husband would give you a secure future, and if he made you cry, we could always... _'take care of him'_." He added ominously.

"Oi." Himekawa said, chagrined. What the hell was this geezer saying? As if he'd let himself be killed so easily!

"Grandpa, How many times do I have to tell you—I don't want you to kill people just because I don't get along with them! It's a fact of life that everyone is going to have someone who they don't get along with. If I have a problem with someone, let me settle it myself! Don't just kill someone because of a few tears!" Misaki scolded him.

"Eh, what are you saying, Misaki? I never said anything about killing him... Tatsuya-kun would just... _disappear_..." Masanori said seriously.

'He's definitely planning an assassination...!' Himekawa and Misaki thought, there faces cast in shadow.

"Anyway, although Himekawa-san is reluctant to cancel the engagement, he finally agreed to the terms that if either of you found someone else that you really fell in love with and wanted to marry, then you'd be released from the engagement. However, until then, you will still be considered promised to eachother with the intention of marriage as a backup plan for your futures. We'll give you a few years to find true love, but then it's time to say your vows in front of the altar, got it?" Masanori said bluntly.

"You can't just put a time-limit on love, Grandpa. These things happen when you least expect it." Misaki said, sweat dropping.

"I agree, but Himekawa-san found some dirt on us, and he's using it to black mail us into this arrangement, so I'm counting on you as our only chance of salvation, Misaki." Masanori said seriously. "However, if we reach the deadline, and you two still don't want to marry eachother, then I'll take responsibility. I'll wash my neck and wait for Himekawa-san to deliver the fatal blow."

"Grandpa..." Misaki said, touched that he would be willing to throw himself under the bus for her. "I'm sorry for yelling at you, Grandpa! I love you!" Misaki cried as she flung herself onto the yakuza boss, hugging him.

"Hmph. As long as you understand." Masanori said, blushing slightly out of embarrassment as he patted her on the back, not used to being shown so much straightforward affection. Himekawa sweat dropped. Akiyama Masanori, one of Japan's most dangerous men... had been reduced to a shy tsundere of a doting grandfather by his strange granddaughter... it was unbelievable. He also wanted to gag after seeing the warm and fuzzy aura around the two of them. It was just too much.

"Ahem. I almost forgot. There are a few conditions Himekawa-san required in order to agree to this new arrangement." Masanori said, clearing his throat to cover his embarrassment as Misaki settled back in her seat. "First, you two have to live together, though I managed to negotiate it so that it was just the same building. So Misaki will be living on the 24th floor of your apartment building, Tatsuya-kun. Second, Misaki has to make Tatsuya-kun an obento everyday for school. Third, you have to go on a date with eachother at least once every other week."

"..." Himekawa and Misaki said as they stared at him. "What the hell_!_?" They both shouted incredulously.

"Oh, nice reaction there, you two." Masanori said, giving them a thumbs up. "Himekawa-san made those his requirements because he wanted you to get to know eachother better and possibly fall in love, but it looks like you're pretty close already." He said, nodding in approval.

"No... I think that would be anyone's reaction after hearing they had to do such embarrassing things..." Misaki said, blushing slightly out of embarrassment.

"I'm going to kill that old man..." Himekawa said darkly, radiating murderous intent, as a vein mark throbbed on his forehead.

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

I've added a link to a pic of Misaki in her school uniform on my profile ^_^


	7. Make New Friends

I own nothing but my OC.

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><p><em><strong>A Rose Among Thorns: Make new friends but keep the old<strong>_

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><p>"<strong>English speech"<strong>

"Japanese speech"

'Thoughts'

=\=\=\=\=\= Scene transition and/or time lapse

{Setting/scene}

Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)

= Sound effects =

_An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration or stuff like written letters._

* * *

><p><strong>Previously:<strong>

"_Oh, nice reaction there, you two." Masanori said, giving them a thumbs up. "Himekawa-san made those his requirements because he wanted you to get to know eachother better and possibly fall in love, but it looks like you're pretty close already." He said, nodding in approval._

"_No... I think that would be anyone's reaction after hearing they had to do such embarrassing things..." Misaki said, blushing slightly out of embarrassment._

"_I'm going to kill that old man..." Himekawa said darkly, radiating murderous intent, as a vein mark throbbed on his forehead._

* * *

><p>"Have fun at school, Misaki." Masanori told his granddaughter as they pulled up in front Ishiyama High. "I'll send Gen-san and the others over later to help you move in to your new apartment."<p>

"Okay, bye, Grandpa!" Misaki said as she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and exited the car with Himekawa. Himekawa shook his head at her. How could someone who was so shy about making an obento just kiss anyone on the cheek so casually...?

"Something wrong, Hime-sempai?" Misaki asked curiously when she noticed the odd look on his face.

"No. I was just thinking how weird you are." He said bluntly, causing her to flinch in shock.

"Wha—" She started to yell incredulously when she spotted another familiar face. "Oh, it's Kunieda-san!" Misaki said cheerfully, smiling brightly as she skipped over to her first female friend (?) in this town. Aoi was walking with two other girls.

"Tch! That girl is too frickin' random..." Himekawa muttered. For some reason, it pissed him off that she'd run straight to Kunieda instead of staying with him longer.

"Kunieda-san, **good morn**—_Whoa!_?" Misaki said, surprised, when she had to drop to the ground in order to avoid being hit with a metal chain that had suddenly come at her from out of nowhere. Actually, it had been swung at her by the redhead next to Aoi that was wearing a long white coat. She had a really annoyed expression on her face for some reason...

"Ah! Kurokawa-san, are you all right?" Aoi asked, concerned. "Nene, why did you attack her like that? Kurokawa-san is a new student here." She told Misaki's attacker, who just so happened to be Omori Nene, the new leader of the Red Tails.

"Ah, sorry! When I heard that English greeting, I just reacted without thinking... Tch. It's that damn **'Good Night' **Shimokawa's fault for always trying to bother Aoi-nee-san!" Nene said, furrowing her brow slightly in irritation at the memory. 'But still, it's pretty impressive that she could dodge that attack...' She thought, slightly impressed.

"Ahaha... It's fine since no one got hurt." Misaki said, smiling wryly as she stood up and brushed herself off. "I'm Kurokawa Misaki, but you guys can just call me Misaki-chan, Mimi, Mi-chan, or whatever. I feel more comfortable that way since I'm not used to being called by my family name." She said, smiling brightly at them, completely over the fact that she had just been attacked.

'Kawaii...' Chiaki thought.

"What are your names? Kunieda-san and I have already met before..." Misaki asked curiously.

"I'm Omori Nene, and this is Tanimura Chiaki. We're members of the Red Tails." Nene said. "How do you know Nee-san?"

"I met Misaki-chan the other day when she asked me for directions." Aoi said. "Ah, but if I'm going to call you Misaki-chan, then you can go ahead and call me Aoi."

"If Aoi-nee-san approves of you that much, then you can call me Nene." Nene said.

"Same here." Chiaki said quietly, nodding in agreement.

"Cool~! I'm so glad to have finally met some nice girls like you... at my last school I was the only girl who lasted past the first two weeks!" Misaki said happily.

"N-Nice...?" Nene said, surprised. That's not how people usually reacted when meeting a yankee girl... Unless... maybe she wanted to join them? "Did you transfer here to join the Red Tails?" She asked. "I'm warning you now, we have a rule against having relationships with men."

"Eh? Oh, no. You guys seem pretty strong, but I'm not actually interested in joining a gang right now... and I'm currently in search of my true love at the moment..." She said, blushing and smiling wryly as she sweat dropped.

'Kawaii!' Chiaki thought.

"Huh?" Nene and Aoi said, wondering what the heck she was talking about.

"It's a long story... but I can tell you if you want to hear it." She said, smiling at her new friends.

=\=\=\=\=\=

"Yo, Himekawa-san! Who was that chick you were with earlier? A new girl?" Acid Suzuki asked when Himekawa entered his base/classroom.

"Huh? Why do you want to know?" Himekawa asked boredly as he sat down and lounged in a chair.

"Well, she's pretty hot, so if you're done with her, I'd like a go at her!" Suzuki said, practically drooling. Himekawa grimaced unpleasantly at that. Although Misaki wasn't really his type, he didn't want to let someone like Suzuki have her either.

"She's my Fiancée." Himekawa said bluntly. He had to admit, it was kind of worth saying it just so he could see the look on Suzuki's face. His shocked expression was priceless.

"Ehhh_!_?" Suzuki yelled in alarm, turning blue with shock and fear over what Himekawa might do to him for talking about his fiancée like that. He looked like he was about to wet himself. "I-I'm sorry Himekawa-san! I-I didn't know!" he stuttered nervously.

"Hmph. Well now you do. Just remember that she's off-limits." Himekawa said coolly.

=\=\=\=\=\=

{Lunchtime...}

Not much had really happened that morning after Misaki had told them about her situation. They had talked about different things, like what the Red Tails had planned for the weekend, and Nene had taken out a few JDs that were stupid enough to hit on the four of them.

"But man, I just can't believe you got set up with Himekawa of all people..." Nene said for the third time that day as they all pushed their desks together so they could eat together.

"Yeah, but no matter how many times you say it, it still remains just as true..." Misaki said, smiling wryly as she sweat dropped and opened up her bento, revealing a beautiful lunch of leftover vegetable tempura and omu-rice with a cute chibi bunny drawn on it in ketchup.

"It's cute." Chiaki said, nodding in approval.

"Thanks! Itadakimasu~!" Misaki said, smiling brightly as they all started eating. She noticed that Aoi seemed to be distracted by something outside the window. "What is it, Aoi-chan? Is there something interesting happening outside?" She asked, leaning to look out the window.

"Eh? Isn't that Oga Tatsumi and that creep Furuichi?" Nene said as she and Chiaki also looked out the window. "Nee-san! Don't tell me you were daydreaming about Oga again_!_?" She asked incredulously, worried about Aoi's future if she got involved with Oga. She still hadn't accepted her resignation from the Red Tails, after all.

"Oh! You guys know Oga-kun?" Misaki asked curiously.

"O-Oga–_k-kun!_?" Aoi asked, blushing slightly at how familiarly Misaki had just addressed Oga. She could never just call him 'Oga-kun' so easily! Misaki didn't like Oga... did she_!_?

"Did I say something wrong...?" She asked Nene and Chiaki, confused.

"No. Aoi-nee-san is just a little shy because... She kind of likes Oga..." Nene said, wanting to kick herself for actually admitting it out loud to someone.

'Kawaii...' Chiaki thought, looking at their different expressions of shyness, confusion, and being flustered. Everyone was acting rather cute today...

"Oh, I see... Well, good luck, Aoi-chan! Let me know if there's anything I can do to help." Misaki said, grinning encouragingly at her.

"Eh? You will_!_?" Aoi asked, excited and relieved to hear that she had an ally since Misaki really didn't like Oga that way, after all.

"Sure, what are friends for?" She said, smiling brightly.

= Crackle—Zap! _Flash! =_

Misaki's eyes widened in surprise as they heard Oga cry out in alarm when a bright flash of what looked like electricity suddenly flashed around him when Be'el started crying.

'Okaaay... That was weird...' Misaki thought suspiciously. It seemed like the electricity was coming _from_ Be'el, and it stopped as soon as Oga calmed him down. 'Nah, it couldn't be...' Misaki thought dismissively. There was no way a human baby could do something like that! She must've seen it wrong or something...

=\=\=\=\=\=

{The end of the school day...}

"Bye, Aoi-chan, Nene-san, and Chiaki-chan~!" Misaki called out cheerfully as she waved goodbye and got in the car with Himekawa. "See you next week~!"

"Bye-bye, Misaki-chan!" Aoi said as she and the others waved at her as the car drove away.

"Hmph. I see you made some new friends." Himekawa said coolly.

"Yep~! I'm so glad there are other girls at this school! I missed having other girls around to talk to when I was at Onigashima. It's fun to hang out with guy-friends, but it's just not the same." Misaki said, smiling with the radiance of a thousand suns. "Hey, since I'm supposed to start making you bentos, how about I go to the store and buy the ingredients now? Is there anything you want to eat?" She asked.

"Nothing in particular. Anything is fine." Himekawa said carelessly.

"'Anything' is the most difficult, you know..." Misaki said, sweat dropping. Couldn't he at least narrow it down some for her? "Is there anything you don't like or that you're allergic to?"

"Hmm... Let's see... I don't do shirako, inago no tsukudani, zazamushi, basashi, or hachinoko." Himekawa said decisively.

"Yeah, don't worry... I don't want to eat any of those either..." Misaki said, feeling slightly ill just thinking about them. "My mom tricked me into eating a can of zazamushi before... it was so bad that I ended up blacking out and repressing the memory for the sake of my own mental health..." She said, shuddering.

"... What is wrong with the adults in your family? Are they all insane?" Himekawa asked her, sweat dropping.

"Well, I've never met my dad, but from what I've heard from my mom and Grandma Blackburn, he's a lot like me. He had a bit more common sense though..." Misaki said, smiling wryly as she sweat dropped.

"Grandma Blackburn...? Didn't you say your name was Kurokawa? Why didn't your mother take your father's name if she was going to go through the trouble of changing it from Akiyama when she moved to America?" Himekawa asked, realizing how odd it was for her father's mother to have a different last name.

"Oh, but she did!" Misaki insisted animatedly. "I asked my mom that before, and she told me that the name Blackburn meant 'black river' in old English, but since she figured my grandpa would be looking for her, she decided it would be easier to hide from him under a different name, so she picked Kurokawa, which of course, means 'black river' in Japanese." She explained. "Although I'm like this, my mother was really smart—Like a genius!"

"Don't tell me you have a mother complex..." Himekawa said, dreading the answer.

"No, but I do look up to her. She raised me as a single parent in a foreign country, after all. Not many people could manage it as well as she did. My mom was a strong woman. She went from being a privileged Ojou-sama to a poor working-class woman all for my sake!" Misaki said proudly.

"... It sounds like you take after her." Himekawa said thoughtfully. Misaki had been about to live on the streets to stand up for her beliefs, after all.

"You really think so_!_?" Misaki asked excitedly, smiling radiantly at him. "My mom always said I took after my father personality-wise, but I've been told that I'm just like her physically... except for my hair and my freaky strength and ridiculous indestructibility, which I also got from my father."

"Well, I've never seen what your mother or your father look like, but from what you just said, it sounds like you Akiyama women are pretty tough." Himekawa said, smiling slightly.

"Ah!" Misaki said, smiling even brighter. "You just smiled, Hime-sempai~! This calls for a celebration! I'm going to go get ingredients to bake a celebratory cake—see you back at the apartment!" She said excitedly as she opened the car door and jumped out.

"Oi_!_?" Himekawa yelled after her, nearly having a heart attack. Thank God they had at least been slowing down since the light was red! "Ah! That crazy Mi-baka is going to be the death of me...!" He muttered darkly, chagrined. Why the hell did he have to worry about such a crazy brat, anyway_!_?

=\=\=\=\=\=

"Oh, Tatsuya-kun! Is school over already? Where's Misaki?" Masanori asked when Himekawa opened the door to his own apartment. Apparently, the old gangster had decided to make himself at home while he was waiting for them to return.

'This must be where Misaki learned her disregard for other people's privacy...' Himekawa thought, chagrined, as a vein mark throbbed on his forehead. Just how the hell did they keep getting into his room to begin with_!_? Could they phase through the walls or something_!_? "School just ended. Misaki went to the supermarket on her own to buy cooking ingredients. How did you get in here, old man?" Himekawa said bluntly, not even bothering with politeness.

"I picked the lock, of course. I told the manager that I was the guardian of your fiancée, but he didn't believe me." Masanori replied carelessly as he flipped through the newspaper.

"_This geezer...!'_ Himekawa thought, clenching his fist in irritation as a vein mark throbbed on his forehead. Sneaking in was one thing, but actively breaking in was another thing entirely!

"But anyway, if Misaki is at the supermarket, then what are you doing here?" Masanori asked as he glanced pointedly at Himekawa, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"What do you mean 'why'? _I live here_." Himekawa reminded him, getting more and more irritated by the second.

"I mean, why didn't you go with her_!_?" Masanori demanded, slamming the newspaper down. "You're a man aren't you? Why didn't you insist on helping her carry the bags_!_?"

"What the hell_!_? What am I her keeper? You kept going on about how freakishly strong she was just last night! Can't she handle something like that on her own?" Himekawa retorted, slamming his fist against the wall, cracking it a little.

"That's not the point! It's the principle of the thing! When a woman is carrying a heavy burden, as a man it's your responsibility to lift it off of her shoulders!" Masanori declared dramatically, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. "Don't you have any sense of chivalry_!_?"

=Ka-chak=

"**Honey, I'm hooome~!** Haha, just kidding!" Misaki said, smiling sillily as she entered the apartment, interrupting before Himekawa could rip her grandfather a new one. "Oh, you're already here, Grandpa?" She said, only slightly surprised. "Wait a minute—You didn't pick Himekawa-san's lock did you?" She asked suspiciously as she set all ten bulging grocery bags onto the kitchen counter and started unloading them into Himekawa's fridge. "I've already told you to stop it, haven't I? You might think it looks cool to be able to beat someone into their own home, but to others it's a nuisance... not to mention a crime!" She scolded Masanori. "Just ring the doorbell like everyone else!"

'Says the girl using someone else's fridge with out permission...' Himekawa thought, chagrined. Well, at least most of that food was meant for him anyway...

"Tch. You're so strict about the oddest things, Misaki." Masanori pouted, crossing his arms as he looked away defiantly (?). "Why did you scold me, and not Tatsuya-kun? He left you to carry that all on your own, didn't he?"

"Actually, I left _him_ when I got out the car, and it's not like I asked him to help me. I don't see the point in treating someone like a pack mule when I can easily carry this much by myself." Misaki said reasonably.

"Easily, you say..." Himekawa said as he stared at all the stuff she had bought. That stuff had to way at least 30kg all together, and she had carried it several blocks... Was she a descendant of Hercules or something..._!_?

"Anyway, Grandpa, didn't you come here to help me get settled into my new apartment? Why are you harassing Hime-sempai?" Misaki asked.

"Because it's fu—I mean, why can't I visit my possible future son-in-law?" Masanori retorted.

'Just now... that damned geezer was about to say 'it's fun,' wasn't he?' Himekawa thought, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. He wondered how much it would cost to keep himself from getting convicted of murder...

"... If you say so..." Misaki said, obviously not buying it. "Since I'm here now, let's go move everything into my apartment, and give Hime-sempai a break."

"Move what?" Masanori asked, looking slightly confused.

"My stuff. Didn't you bring it here from the house so I could move in?" Misaki asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, that. No, I decided to just buy you new things for your apartment here. That way everything will be waiting for you when you come home. You _will _remember to visit us over the holidays, right?" Masanori said pointedly.

"Um... okay?" Misaki said, sweat dropping. What was with this sudden sense of pressure she was feeling...? "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Hime-sempai, bye-bye!"

"I'll be heading back home to Sapporo after Misaki's all settled in, so this is our final farewell, Tatsuya-kun." Masanori said, nodding goodbye to Himekawa as he obediently followed Misaki out the door, finally leaving him in peace.

"Good riddance." Himekawa muttered as he flopped onto his couch. Thank God that annoying geezer lived in another city! If he came home to this everyday, he really might have to kill someone.

=\=\=\=\=\=

{At the local department store...}

"So... how are you getting along with Tatsuya-kun?" Masanori asked Misaki as she browsed through the home décor section.

"I think we're getting along all right, but I haven't known him for very long, and Aoi-chan and the others warned me that he's known for playing dirty and his motto is 'there's nothing that money can't buy'." Misaki said frankly. "Oh! This is cute~! Can I get it, Grandpa?" she asked excitedly as she held up a cute _Usagi Ninja_ mug.

"..." Masanori said as he stared at it. Usually he would make Misaki buy stuff like that with her own money, but since she actually did need cups... He could let it slide this time. "All right, but I just don't understand your tastes. Why do you like that character so much?" He asked skeptically.

"Well, you know I like cute things and action, right? _Usagi Ninja_ is both because the main character is a cute little rabbit, but she has deadly ninja skills!" Misaki said happily as she held onto her new mug.

"Just be careful not to turn into an otaku like Shin did..." Masanori said, sweat dropping. "That boy worries me sometimes..."


	8. Coincidental meetings

I own nothing but my OC.

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><p><em><strong>A Rose Among Thorns: Coincidental meetings are often the most troublesome!<br>**_

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><p>"<strong>English speech"<strong>

"Japanese speech"

'Thoughts'

=\=\=\=\=\= Scene transition and/or time lapse

{Setting/scene}

Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)

= Sound effects =

_An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration or stuff like written letters._

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><p>"Let's see... It's the weekend, and I'm on my own in a new town... Time to explore~!" Misaki said, grinning mischievously as she walked down the street.<p>

Since she didn't know too many people in town other than Himekawa and the others at Ishiyama, she didn't really have anyone to hang out with. Himekawa had ditched her to go do something on his own. Nene and the other Red Tails were busy with a gang meeting, and Aoi had to watch her little brother, Kota. The poor little guy had come down with a light cold, and Aoi had missed school Misaki's first day there because no one else at her home could watch him, but yesterday her grandfather took care of him so she wouldn't miss another day of school.

'I hope Kota-kun feels better soon...' Misaki thought sympathetically. 'Ah, speaking of cute babies... isn't that Be'el-bou up ahead? What is he doing by himself_!_?' The poor little tyke was sitting on the sidewalk, surrounded by a group of rough looking JDs. Be'el looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"Heheh, we did it! Now that we have Oga's brat, he'll have no choice but to let us beat him!" One of them said gleefully as they all loomed over Be'el.

"Oh? So that's what happened... Hearing that you guys put a baby in danger like this really... pisses me off!" Misaki said as she came up behind the group of thugs and slammed two of their heads together mercilessly.

"Wh-What the hell's wrong with you, bit—_!_?" One of them started to demand incredulously, but he was cut off when Misaki gave him a straight punch to the face and delivered a roundhouse kick to last remaining guy's ribs, incapacitating them all in just one minute.

"Let's go find your 'papa,' Be'el-Bou!" Misaki said as she grabbed the infant and got the heck out of dodge in case someone called the police. Oddly enough, seeing Misaki beat the crap out of those guys seemed to have cheered the little guy up...

"_Be'eeeelll-booou—!_!" Oga yelled frantically as he flew past them, approaching the speed of sound in his desperate pursuit of Be'el's kidnappers. If he didn't catch up to them before Be'el cried, he might seriously die this time!

"Wait, Oga-kun! I have Be'el-bou right here!" Misaki called after him holding Be'el up so he could see. Oga immediately put on the breaks and skidded to a stop.

"Be'el-bou! What are you doing with Mimi...?" Oga asked as he took Be'el from her.

"Dah! Dabu dabu da!" Be'el said excitedly, his eyes sparkling with happiness at seeing Oga again.

"Man, that was close! Thanks, Mimi—you really saved my life there! Where did you find him? Last I saw this little guy he had been snatched right off my back as some punks drove past me on a motorcycle. Normally, I can keep up with them, but I ended up tripping and losing them..." Oga said, smiling.

"It was no big deal, really. I just noticed that some really shady looking guys had Be'el-bou, and he looked like he was about to cry, so I decided to step in." Misaki said, smiling at the now happy Be'el. "_!_?" She said, surprised when Oga suddenly clasped her hands in his.

"How can I repay you? If not for you keeping him from crying, _I'd be dead right now_." Oga said seriously. Misaki sweat dropped.

"You're exaggerating, Oga..." She said, smiling wryly.

"No, really, if he cries when I'm more than fifteen meters away from him, the electric shock will kill me." Oga said, sighing as he placed Be'el back on his shoulders. Misaki stared at Oga, stunned. From what Oga had just said, it sounded like she hadn't been seeing things the other day at school—which was good because she wasn't going crazy—but on the other hand... _human babies couldn't do something like that_._..!_

"Um, Oga-kun. Are you trying to mess with my head, or is Be'el not human...? You said you 'found' him, but where? What planet?" Misaki asked, sweat dropping.

"Huh? What are you talking about, Mimi? Be'el is an akuma, a demon lord, and I found him when an old man named Alaindelon floated down the river and split in half. Be'el was inside of him. I have to take care of him because Hilda, his demonic nursemaid, said I was chosen as his parent." Oga said bluntly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"..." Misaki said as she stared at him, eyes wide with shock, and slightly pale. "D-Demon lord...?" She asked hesitantly, pointing at Be'el.

"Yep. Demon lord." Oga confirmed, also pointing at Be'el.

"Dabu!" Be'el agreed.

"Ah...haha...I see..." Misaki said, suddenly feeling mentally drained. "That's pretty unbelievable... but I wouldn't tell anyone else that Be'el-bou is an akuma, Oga-kun. They might not take it so well..." She said, pinching the bridge of her nose as she felt a stress headache coming on. What the hell...? If Oga's story was true, then that meant demons were real! 'Well, I've seen stranger things on the subway in New York...' She thought. "How about you just pay me back by buying me some azuki flavored icecream?" She suggested. "That stuff is pretty good."

"Azuki...? What are you, an old man? Don't girls usually like flavors like chocolate or strawberry?" Oga asked with no evil intentions.

"Well, azuki flavored ice cream is pretty rare in America, so it can be considered a real treat there..." Misaki said, smiling wryly as she sweat dropped.

"Whatever, let's go!" Oga said, as he grabbed Misaki by the wrist and started dragging her to the nearest icecream shop. "We can get some vanilla for me and Be'el-bou while we're there!" He said, looking forward to the cool treat.

"Da~!" Be'el cooed happily.

=\=\=\=\=\=

{Meanwhile...}

"Ne, Himekawa-san, what do you want to do today~?" A well-endowed bleached-blond girl asked him flirtatiously as she scooted closer to him in the back seat of his limo.

"Are we going to somewhere new, or the usual place~?" The redhead sitting on his other side asked seductively, not to be outdone by her competition for Himekawa's affection (money). Himekawa sighed. He didn't know why he had even bothered calling these two if they were just going to bore him with the same old routine. It looked like his old man was serious about having him marry Misaki, because he had received an e-mail from the bastard, that if he tried to find his own way out of the engagement, then his father would disown him. Really, Himekawa's hit list was just getting longer by the day! At this rate, he really would end up marrying Mi-baka, since he really doubted anyone else would want her, so he figured he might as well play around while he still could.

'Well, I guess marrying that idiot wouldn't be so bad...' Himekawa thought, smiling wryly. He couldn't even believe he was seriously considering it, but whatever—at least she was pretty hot. Her boobs could be bigger, but hey, nobody's perfect, and she actually wasn't as annoying once you got used to her...

"Haha, aw look at you, Be'el-bou! You're making such a mess of yourself..." He heard Misaki say, her voice full of amusement, as she tried not to giggle while lightly scolding someone.

"Huh...?" Himekawa said, furrowing his brow slightly as he wondered who she could be talking to. It's not like she knew that many people in this town... He glanced out the window, and nearly coughed up blood from shock when he saw who she was with—_What the hell was she doing with Oga._.._!_? Why were they eating icecream together while she helped wipe Oga's little brat's face clean_!_? _And What was with that warm and sparkling 'two young parents on date' aura they had around them!_?

"Mmm, this icecream is tasty~!" Misaki said as she ate the delicious frozen treat. "I've never had soft-serve azuki icecream before—Thanks for treating me, Oga-kun!"

"Tr-Treating... Oga-k-kun_!_?" Himekawa stuttered, shocked. 'How did she manage to get 'Rampaging Ogre' Oga to buy her something—_and why the hell was she calling him so familiarly!_? _When did they get so close!_?' He thought incredulously. "Staop the car he ordered his driver as he got out his car, and started marching towards them, ignoring the surprised protests from the girls inside.

"Oi, what the hell do you think you're doing,_ Mi-baka_?" Himekawa demanded in a dangerously calm voice, getting their attention. There was a vein mark throbbing on his head and an ominous aura around him.

"Yo, Hime-sempai!" Misaki greeted him, smiling innocently, as though she hadn't been 'consorting with the enemy' right in front of him. "I thought you said you were busy today... what're you doing here?" She asked curiously as she continued to lick her icecream cone while holding Be'el so Oga could wipe away the icecream that Be'el had smeared all over his face.

"Don't 'yo' me! Why are you on a date with Oga?" He asked dangerously. Misaki and Oga stared blankly at him for a moment with identical 'does not compute' expressions on their faces.

"What date?" They asked simultaneously. Another vein mark appeared on Himekawa's forehead. It really pissed him off that the two of them were so in sync with each other.

"Why are you eating icecream and laughing together_!_? Don't you know how much I hate that bastard's guts_!_?" Himekawa shouted incredulously at her.

"Ohhh!" Misaki said, her eyes shining with comprehension, finally understanding why Himekawa had reacted that way. "So that's what you meant. Oga-kun was just treating me to icecream as thanks for helping him by saving Be'el-bou from a group of kidnappers when I happened to pass by." Misaki explained, smiling fondly at the little demon lord in her arms. He was so cute for such a supposedly 'evil' being.

"And just why were you helping out one of my enemies...?" Himekawa asked, chagrined. If anyone else had told him such a far-fetched exuse, he'd have punched them, but knowing how crazy Mi-baka was, it was probably true... not to mention that he was slightly disturbed by just how _relieved_ he was feeling to know that Misaki really wasn't interested in Oga that way...

"What do you mean? Even if you don't like Oga-kun, Be'el-bou is just a baby—you don't think I'd really just pretend I didn't see anything when such a cute little baby is in trouble, do you_!_? Misaki asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "Besides, why is Oga-kun your 'enemy'?" Himekawa stared at her. Was she _seriously_ asking him that...?

"You... didn't you hear about how he beat both me and Kanzaki...?" Himekawa asked her, stunned by her ignorance. He thought she told him the other day that Kunieda and the Red Tails had explained the situation at Ishiyama to her...

"Oh, right... I forgot about that, tee-hee~!" Misaki said, bopping herself playfully on the head as she made a sickeningly cute 'silly me' face.

"'_Tee-hee~,' my ass!_!' Himekawa snapped, vein mark throbbing on his forehead. _So she did know!_

"Anyway, Mimi, are you sure you don't want to be this kid's mother?" Oga asked bluntly, causing Himekawa's jaw to drop as he gaped incredulously at Oga. Was this bastard seriously hitting on his fiancée so blatantly right in front of him_!_? And what the hell happened to Oga's hot wife—Why did he want to take Misaki from him_!_? And what the hell was this 'Mimi' crap_—at least add a '-san' on the end, bastard!_?

"What is the meaning of this?" A familiar female voice demanded sternly from behind them. They all turned to see a blond bombshell with big boobs, who was wearing a black goth-loli dress and holding an umbrella. You know what the say, speak of the devil, and he shall appear...

"It's Hilda...!' Oga thought. Crap, she looked really annoyed that he had tried to run away again...

'It's his wife! _The real thing showed up!'_ Himekawa thought. He smirked. _Perfect. _Oga was in trouble now...

"Ah, Hilda. This is Mimi. She's pretty strong, and Be'el-bou likes her, so—" Oga began to explain, hoping he had finally found a way to escape, as Hilda walked up to Misaki, staring her down as she sized her up.

"—Rejected." Hilda said bluntly, taking Be'el back from Misaki, who was too stunned to do anything except stand there like an idiot at the moment. Himekawa was also staring blankly at Hilda, not really sure how he should react. Why wasn't she yelling at Oga for cheating on her, and why had she said _that _to Misaki..._!_? 'Rejected' for what_!_?

"What_!_? Why_!_?" Oga shouted incredulously as Misaki sweat dropped, finally recovering from her shock. Be'el was cute, but taking care of a demon lord sounded like it was even harder than caring for a human baby, and therefore way more trouble than she really wanted to have to deal with on top of her arranged marriage with Himekawa, so she was feeling kind of relieved... But the way she had just been flat out rejected like that was pretty cold.. _like 'a snowstorm in Antarctica' cold_.

"Although I can tell from the way this woman was holding Bou-chama that she is well suited for child rearing, even without fighting her, I can tell that it is impossible for her to be Bou-chama's parent, since she is lacking the most important requirement for such an important role—_evil intent_. It is virtually nonexistent in this girl. Even if she had the strength of Godzilla, she could not be considered a candidate since she has no maliciousness in her. Therefore, the best candidate to be this child's parent is still you." Hilda explained to Oga. 'However, it is rather strange that Bou-chama has become so attached to her when I cannot sense even a hint of malice from her...' Hilda thought, wondering if there might actually be something more to this strange girl. There was something vaguely familiar about her, but she was obviously in no way a threat to her young master, so Hilda wasn't really too concerned. Besides, almost all of these humans seemed to look alike to her anyway.

'I see... Be'el is a 'demon' after all... I guess it makes sense to find a human that was as close to being a demon as possible to act as his parent on earth...' Misaki thought. Oga had been acting pretty normal around her so far, but if he was the top candidate so far, then Misaki decided that it would probably be best if she stayed on Oga's good side...

"Tch, and here I thought I finally had a chance at freedom..." Oga said, clicking his tongue in disappointment.

"I never actually agreed to take him, though..." Misaki said, sweat dropping.

"Tch. I don't really get what you're all going on about, but come on—we're leaving, Misaki." Himekawa said sternly as he grabbed her wrist and started pulling Misaki back to his car with him.

"Ah!" Misaki said, surprised that he was actually taking her with him. "Bye guys! It was nice meeting you, Hilda-san!" She called back at them, waving goodbye as Himekawa opened the car door.

"Moh~! Himekawa-san, why'd you suddenly leave like that? Who's she? A new girl?" The redheaded girl asked as she and the blond pouted at him. Himekawa froze.

'Crap. I had forgotten about these two...' Himekawa thought, glancing at Misaki out the corner of his eye to see what her reaction would be.

"..." Misaki said as she stared at them, before turning to Himekawa with an extremely unimpressed look on her face. "Tell me again, why you were so mad I was eating a snack with Oga-kun? You have a lot of nerve to yell at me for having a friendly conversation with someone when you've got two girls with you in your car after telling me you were too busy with something to show me around town." She deadpanned. "It looks like you really are a womanizer..." She added disappointedly. Despite how brusque he usually was with her, Misaki had started to like Himekawa... though if asked, she really couldn't say why... It would be one thing if he had been on a date with one girl at a time, because he was trying to find love before the deadline set by his father, since they had both been forced into this, and she had planned on trying to go on a few dates if she met another boy she liked, too... but no matter how you looked at it, Himekawa was just playing around. That was just not cool. Himekawa sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a stress headache starting up. What the hell was with this strange sense of guilt he was suddenly feeling after letting Misaki find out that he had been playing around...? It's not like he did anything wrong—They weren't even married yet, and she had obviously been against the whole idea of a forced marriage anyway!

"Huh? What are you saying?" The blond girl asked, furrowing her brow in confusion as she stared at Misaki like she was an alien. "If you talk to him like that, you won't get anything, you know."

"I thought there might be something special about you, but it looks like you're just a stupid bitch." The redhead said smugly as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. It looked like there wouldn't be much of a competition for Himekawa's affection (money) after all. Misaki narrowed her eyes at them, not liking what she had just heard at all.

"You two, out of the car." Himekawa said in a dangerously calm tone as he gestured for the blond and redhead to hit the road, vein mark throbbing on his forehead.

"Wha—_!_?" The two girls yelled incredulously, flinching in shock. Even they could tell that Himekawa was beyond pissed for some reason, but still...!

"Stop joking, Himekawa-san! It's not funny." The redhead said, chagrined. "You don't expect me to believe you're really going to ditch us for that idiotic-looking, flat-chested bitch, do you?" Their boobs were _so_ much bigger!

'Flat-chested..._!_?' Misaki thought, flinching in shock, as she felt her chest to make sure her boobs hadn't suddenly disappeared. Nope. Still there. It wasn't really that bad, was it...? She was a B-cup...

"I'm not joking. We're done for the day, so you can just walk from here." Himekawa said seriously, glaring at them with a look that could melt the iceberg that sunk Titanic in a heartbeat. "And _I'm_ the only one allowed to make fun of this girl, _got it?"_

"No, I don't really want you to make fun of me either..." Misaki muttered, sweat dropping.

"Y-Yes, Himekawa-san!" The two girls stuttered as they cowered in fear, realizing that the time Himekawa had told them 'stupid girls made him want to kill' wasn't just him joking around... _He was seriously pissed!_ They quickly started scrambling over each other to get out of the car.

"Hold it." Misaki said suddenly, blocking their exit, as she stood in front of the open car door.

_CLAP._

The redhead's eyes widened in shock when Misaki clapped both of her hands on each side of the redhead's face, lightly slapping both of the girl's cheeks simultaneously.

"That was for calling me a flat-chested bitch." Misaki stated calmly as she stared the other girl straight in the eyes. "I don't know the whole situation with you guys and Hime-sempai, but I can understand being upset when your date suddenly dumps you on the street, so I'll let it go with just this... But if you're just after Hime-sempai's money, and don't really care about him, then you'd better not let me catch you like this again, _got it?"_ She said seriously, before glancing at the blond. "That goes for you too, blondie. The driver'll take you home now, sorry for the inconvenience." She added, punctuating her sentence by slamming the car door shut on their stunned faces. Misaki walked up the driver's window (which was partially rolled down) and saluted the chauffeur, mimicking a general commanding his troops. "Take them away, Tanaka-san!"

The driver nodded, slightly bemused, as he rolled his window up and drove away, just like he was told. Himekawa might be the one who signs his paychecks, but he had a feeling this girl wasn't someone he should mess with...

"_Oi."_ Himekawa said, clearly annoyed that she had just sent his car away like that without permission. "What do you think _you're_ doing?" He asked sternly.

"What you should've done. What kind of asshole invites a couple of girls out, and then just ditches them like that? How far were you going to make them walk when they were wearing heels, huh?" Misaki retorted evenly as she watched the car disappear off into the distance. "I know I probably overstepped my boundaries there, and I don't know for sure what your relationship with those girls is, but... I've met people like them before. They're probably just using you for your money. You won't find true happiness if you keep surrounding yourself with artificial love like that." She said solemnly as she glanced back at him, her hair swaying slightly in the breeze.

In that moment, it seemed as though time had stopped, and Himekawa found himself in awe as he stared into the warm, doe eyes of the girl in front of him, mesmerized by the gentle but solid strength he saw in them. Misaki hadn't interfered just to get even with him, or because she was worried about the money he had been throwing away on those girls—_Misaki was genuinely concerned for him_—not because he was the son of a zaibatsu, or because he was a member of the Tohoshinki, but simply because he was himself... because she wanted her 'sempai' to be happy...

Misaki smiled a little wryly at the slightly stunned look on his face. She realized Himekawa must not be used to hearing sappy stuff like that too often if he was that surprised by something so simple.

"Well, it's all right if you act like an idiot every now and then, Hime-sempai." Misaki said, referring to his poor choice of company. "Practically everyone in the world does at some point in their lives, including me." She said, smiling softly as she turned and started to walk away, breaking the spell she had unwittingly cast upon Himekawa, as she started to move forward once again. "Let's go home, Hime-sempai."


	9. I Won't Let You Sleep Tonight!

I own nothing but my OC.

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><p><em><strong>A Rose Among Thorns: I won't let you sleep tonight!<strong>_

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><p>"<strong>English speech"<br>**"Japanese speech"  
>'Thoughts'<br>=\=\=\=\=\= Scene transition and/or time lapse  
>{Settingscene}  
><span>Flashbacks and changes in POVs will be labeled as needed<span> (unless stated otherwise, it will be third person omniscient)  
>SOUND EFFECTS<br>_An entire sentence like this, without quotes, is narration or stuff like written letters._

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><p>"Tatsuya-bochama! Is it true that you've found a fiancée?" Hasui, Himekawa's young, personal butler asked excitedly.<p>

"E-Eh? How did you know about that_!_? Didn't you and the others just get back today?" Himekawa asked, sweat dropping.

Hasui and the other servants had only just returned from their short vacation (which turned out to be his old man's plan to give Himekawa and Misaki some 'alone time' when the tracking device, which he had bribed the Akiyama family's dentist to secretly implant in one of her molars, showed that she was in the area).

"Yes, I received a message from your father explaining everything! Congratulations, Tatsuya-bochama! I shall go pay my respects to your future bride at once!" Hasui said, smiling with the radiance of a thousand suns. He was so relieved that his young master had finally found happiness with an honest and beautiful girl.

"W-Wait a minute!" Himekawa shouted, chagrined. "That's just something my—"

"Hi-me–sem-pai~! I'm back with the ingredients for tonight's supper~!" Misaki announced cheerfully as she skipped into the room, carrying several bulging grocery bags.

Himekawa face-palmed.

"Ah, Misaki-sama! I am Hasui, Tatsuya-bochama's personal butler, it is with great pleasure that I am able to finally make your acquaintance and welcome you into the Himekawa family. Please, allow me to carry those for you. A lady such as yourself should not be burdened with such menial tasks." Hasui said smoothly as he bowed, and took several bags from Misaki in one fluid motion. Hasui was a little startled when he felt the weight of the bags... it seemed his future Ojou-sama was just as strong as he had heard...

"Oh, thanks..." Misaki said, blinking, as she processed what had just happened. 'Hime-sempai didn't tell me he had ninjas working for him...' She thought, sweat dropping. "I appreciate the help, Hasui-san, but it's all right. I'm used to doing things myself since I grew up kinda poor. I'm more of a tomboy than a lady."

"Not at all. I have heard nothing but good things about you, Misaki-sama." Hasui said, smiling kindly at her as he handed the bags to a couple of other servants so they could take care of them.

Misaki laughed at that.

"You can't have been talking to very many people that actually know me, then!" She said, smiling wryly in amusement. "And you don't have to call me so politely either."

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Misaki-sama. It would be improper for a mere butler to address his master's fiancée so familiarly." Hasui said firmly but kindly.

"Haaah... I see... so you're just as stubborn as the guys back at my grandpa's, huh?" Misaki said, sighing in defeat. She knew from dealing with Gen-san and the others that Hasui wasn't going to budge on this, so she might as well just let it go. "Anyway, I didn't realize you guys were coming back so soon, so I had planned on cooking supper for only two people..." She apologized sheepishly.

"Don't worry about that. Now that my servants are back, they can take care of everything from now on." Himekawa said carelessly as he flopped onto the couch.

"Tatsuya-bochama is correct, Misaki-sama." Hasui said. "Though it was kind of you to be concerned for us, we servants take care of ourselves, so you and Bochama can just relax. Dinner should be ready shortly." Hasui bowed politely before exiting the room to make sure everything was running smoothly, leaving the two teens alone.

"... Is it really all right not to do anything?" Misaki asked hesitantly. It felt kind of weird not to have to do any work for once... The members of the Akiyama Group had always tried to spoil (?) her by doing things for her, but they had at least let Misaki cook since the different members took turns sharing the household chores, and none of them could cook anything edible... Even as a child, Misaki had done the household chores to help ease the burden on her mother, who was often exhausted after returning home from work.

"It's fine. Just relax. They'll call us when it's ready." Himekawa said boredly as he flipped through the channels on his _monstrously large_ TV.

Misaki perked up when a familiar image flashed across the screen.

"Oh! Oh! Go back—please!" She shouted excitedly, eyes sparkling with anticipation. "I think I just saw Usa-chan~!"

"Usa... chan...?" Himekawa asked, raising an eyebrow at her. It couldn't be...

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{later that evening...}

"Ahhh~! That was delicious~!" Misaki said, smiling blissfully as she rubbed her full tummy. Himekawa's chef was freaking amazing! "My compliments to the chef!"

"Thank you, Misaki-sama. I'll be sure to let them know." Hasui said, smiling. "Tatsuya-bochama, will you and Misaki-sama be having your desert here in the dining room, or would you rather have it in the entertainment room while you watch more of the _Usagi Ninja_ marathon?" He asked Himekawa.

Himekawa sighed, feeling slightly chagrined. It turned out that Misaki was a big fan of that particular anime, and was practically a borderline otaku... Well, at least she wasn't _that_ bad (crazy), and the show had some decent action scenes to balance out the disgustingly cute aspects of the whole 'bunny ninja' thing they had going. There were lots of gratuitous explosions and fight scenes.

He glanced sideways at Misaki, who was staring back at him with hopeful eyes. He sighed again in defeat. Just what was it about this girl...?

"We'll have it in the entertainment room..." Himekawa said begrudgingly.

"Yaaay~! You're the best, Hime-sempai~!" Misaki cheered, smiling with such innocent joy that Himekawa had to shield his eyes a little from her radiance.

Well, damn... Someone was easy to please. Himekawa had never seen someone so happy over such a simple thing before. And it hadn't even cost him anything, either...

Things were going rather smoothly, until the crying started. Himekawa's peaceful evening with his unique fiancee, exploding bunnies, and chocolate mousse was instantly ruined by the earth-shattering wails of some baby with an inhumanly powerful set lungs. He was starting to wonder just what kind of heinous act he could have possibly committed in his previous life to have deserved such rotten luck. It figures something would go wrong just when things were getting good...

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{Four days later...}

"Ugh…" Misaki and Himekawa groaned tiredly as they struggled to climb out of the car once they arrived at school.

_Four days_… That's how long it had been since _anyone_ in the town of Ishiyama had had a peaceful, full night's rest. For some reason, a certain little demon lord had been _screaming at the top of lungs every single night!_ Not even industrial strength ear plugs could block out Baby Beel's night crying. Misaki had to wonder if it was some sort of evil plot to drive the humans of the world insane through extreme sleep deprivation…

_THUD._

"… Ow…" Misaki deadpanned, too tired to even care that she had just tripped and face planted on the sidewalk.

"What are you doin'…? Pull yourself together, Mi-baka…" Himekawa mumbled sleepily as he squatted down beside her. Misaki didn't move. She was fast asleep. He sweat dropped. Who just fell asleep on the sidewalk like that...? Well, he couldn't say he really blamed her under the circumstances. He was close to collapsing himself. A vein throbbed on his forehead when he noticed that some equally dazed punks were staring at the unconscious Misaki the same way a hungry dog would eye a steak. He sent them scurrying away with a fierce glare.

_As if he'd let those idiots have her._


End file.
